As the fourth most populated country in the world, Indonesian cities and municipalities produce an estimated 105 thousand tons of solid waste per day — a number that is expected to increase to 150 thousand tons by 2025, according to World Bank projections. (Source: Plastic Waste Discharges from Rivers and Coastlines in Indonesia, East Asia and Pacific Region: Marine Plastic Series, https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/indonesia/publication/plastic-waste-discharges-from-rivers-and-coastlines-in-indonesia).
Tri Hita Consulting wants to ensure to be part of the solution and not the problem. Therefore, on 31 March 2023 the Tri Hita team visited the Pyrolysis process by the Get Plastic Indonesia Foundation.
Based in Badung Regency, Bali, The Get Plastic Indonesia Foundation has been motivated by the plastic waste management movement since 2016. The innovation is in the form of a pyrolysis machine developed in 2014. So far, they have 12 units in operation, with enhanced designs and performance since the first prototype.
Pyrolysis machines convert biomass to an intermediate liquid product that can be refined to drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels, oxygenated fuel additives and petrochemical replacements; the process of processing plastic waste is carried out by heating plastic waste without oxygen.
The pyrolysis process was considered as one of the potential solutions in solving the problem of plastic waste. it reduces harmful emissions through a gas filtering process, this process produces fuel equivalent to diesel, gasoline and propylene gas.
Tri Hita Team met the managers of Get Plastic Indonesia, Ayu and Grace and attended a session of the pyrolysis process. One pyrolysis process can consume 20 kg of soft plastic waste (HDPE, LDPE, PP and multilayer soft plastics) and produce up to 20 litres of fuel oil with a percentage of 80% diesel and the remaining 20% gasoline. The carbon powder residue produced can still be used as flower pots and other home decor products with the addition of resin. They are also trying to develop a planting medium for plants from waste by mixing soil and compost.
The current drawback of this process is that the pyrolysis process of 20kg of plastic will consume about 12 kg of LPG. However, the team of Get Plastic Indonesia is testing other heating possibilities with the combustion of discarded used engine oil or cooking oil, for which there is currently no recycling solution in Indonesia, particularly in remote areas.
.
There’s still room for improvement to reduce our plastic waste. Share with us how your company or community manage your waste!