Jakarta start-up offers cleaning products without the plastic packaging

Jakarta

JUST a few hours after using a mobile app to order some dishwashing liquid, Jakarta resident Juweriah opens the door to a motorbike courier who provides a direct refill in her kitchen.

Ms Juweriah, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, is taking advantage of a rise in environmentally friendly businesses in a country that is the second-largest ocean plastic polluter in the world.

The 38-year-old homemaker orders products through Siklus, a start-up that provides cleaning and sanitary products minus plastic packaging to homes and businesses in the Indonesian capital.

"We refill the bottles and reduce the amount of detergent plastic waste," she said. "My neighbours here have followed suit."

Siklus, launched in 2019, aims to reduce the number of products packaged in sachets, which are particularly popular among lower-income communities. Siklus means "cycle" in Bahasa Indonesia.

Selling for around 800 rupiah (8 Singapore cents), single-use sachets give some of the poorest people in Asia access to everyday household essentials, but they also generate a significant amount of waste, clogging waterways and oceans.

Indonesia generates approximately 7.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, with 4.9 million tonnes of waste mismanaged, noted a World Bank report last month.

Limited waste-management collection infrastructure is one of the main problems, said the report.

Siklus' chief executive Jane von Rabenau, 28, said the response to the product had been positive, with the company increasing its customer base by around 15 per cent each week.

"People have always told me: 'You are never going to change their behaviour. Indonesians don't care', and I was thinking: 'I really don't think so'.

"I think Indonesians across all classes see the plastic problem, and they care about their country - they care about making it better."

Jakarta food stall owner Husaifah was attracted to Siklus by its low prices as well as its environmental credentials.

Dispensing with packaging allows the company to significantly reduce end costs, she said.

"It's practical. The cost is low, and we don't have to go out. It comes to us." REUTERS