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An Indonesian start-up working with the government in a waste management program says it needs more trash to scale-up operations and eventually process recyclables in the country rather than exporting them.

The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry has enlisted Indonesian start-up, SMEsHub, for its waste management program, focusing specifically on litter produced by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

SMEsHub founder and CEO Lutpi Ginanjar said the start-up’s first export deal within the program was inked with a Malaysian company.

“In July this year, a Malaysian company asked us to export an initial 50 tonnes of waste. They then found that our waste is of high quality, so the export contract was bumped up to 4,000 tonnes per month,” Lutpi said.

Prior to working with the ministry, the start-up consulted MSMEs on business operations.

The increase in waste exports prompted Lutpi to approach the ministry in the hope of getting hold of more trash, such as plastic bottles and clothes hangers.

“We have a legal standing with the buyer that once we have a long-term contract, we want them to invest here and build a waste management facility so that we can export the end products,” Lutpi said, expressing his plan for downstream waste processing.

The program was born out of environmental concern after he had witnessed the amount of plastic waste produced by MSMEs, Lupti said, adding that he hoped the deal with the ministry could help MSMEs with waste management in the future.

The scope of the cooperation covers the exchange and utilization of information, support with waste management in tourist destinations and coordination with other stakeholders in waste management.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno noted that there was no comprehensive solution to the issue of waste yet and added that this plastic waste management program could convert waste into exportable products.

“The government has set a national target to reduce waste by 30 percent and increase waste management or waste handling by 70 percent by 2025,” Sandiaga said.

Apart from contributing to the national target, Sandiaga said the collaboration with SMEsHub could create jobs.

The cooperation is manifested in a memorandum of understanding signed by tourist destinations and infrastructure undersecretary Vinsensius Jemadu, digital economy and creative product undersecretary M. Neil El Himam and Lutpi as the representative of SMEsHub.

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