Combating Plastic Sachets by Driving Refill Solution | Knowledge Hub | Circle Economy Foundation
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Business case
Combating Plastic Sachets by Driving Refill Solution
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Plastic waste has always been a major problem in environmental pollution, both land and sea pollution. This is because it takes hundreds of years to decompose naturally. Talking about plastic waste, one of the biggest contributors comes from household items, ranging from plastic shampoo, bath and dishwashing soap, to oil. Greeneration Foundation and Siklus Refill, funded by the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G), the Driving Refill Solution was initiated to tackle single-use plastic sachet with 2 approaches; providing a technical solution of refilling stations and educating the consumers, specifically housewives who are the drivers of Indonesia's traditional household.

Problem

Single-use plastic sachets has become one of the main cause of environmental pollution in Jakarta's suburban neighborhood. The quick and easy option to purchase these consumer goods produces an unwanted consequence of plastic trash scattered in the area. Flood is a regular phenomenon that the communities went through; leading to health and welfare risks. On the other hand, the amount of discarded plastic waste are still not managed properly, thus leaving the locals to burn them in order to completely discard them.

Solution

The Driving Refill Solution (DRS) project aims to eliminate single-use plastic sachet pollution while also providing daily requirements at cheaper prices to lower-middle-income consumers. Greeneration Foundation and Siklus Refill collaborated on this project, with GF focusing on community education and the Siklus using its business model.


Siklus' approach is to replace non-recyclable sachets with refill vending machines that provide essential consumer items in underserved regions, allowing customers to buy modest quantities in reusable containers at a lower per-unit price due to lower distribution and packaging expenses. Siklus Refill also created a mobile sales platform (or "mobile warung") that connects with clients via an app that delivers information on consumer items while also collecting data on waste management and waste pickup in the customer's location.

Outcome

Present since April 2020, Siklus Refill is a startup that provides refill services for household needs. The goal is to overcome the problem of plastic waste while meeting daily needs without using packaging at a more affordable cost. There are two operational models implemented by the Refill Cycle.


The first is a mobile shop, where vendors will go to low- to middle-income areas to offer refills on a number of products, such as shampoo, body care, cleaning products, and coffee. The price is also 10 percent cheaper than the original packaged product, as long as the buyer must bring his own plastic container or bottle. Later the seller will refill the product purchased through the available dispenser. Meanwhile, the second model involves installing refill kits at local shops or sending them directly to consumers' homes around DKI Jakarta and surrounding areas. So far, the company has collaborated with a number of household product companies (FMCG), such as Nestle, Total, Wings, and P&G.


On the other hand, Greeneration Foundation has conducted 16 educational activities to a total of 1661 housewives on the course of November 2020 until November 2021. The issues that were raised was the danger of single-use plastic sachets, river pollution, marine litter, sustainable lifestyle, and the circular economy. The goal is to raise the awareness and encourage responsible consumption and production principles.