Kawan Lama Group, carrying the spirit of bringing value for a better life, has started waste reduction program in 2019 by urging employees to bring their own drinking bottles/tumblers at work, to reduce the use of non-reusable plastic bottles. Moreover, started November 2021, in Headquarters employees were also urged to bring their own lunchboxes and cutleries - resulting reduction of lunch boxes and plastic cutleries more than 45,000 pcs in February 2022. This is also our responsibility in helping the government's program relating waste reduction for sustainable environment preservation, knowing that the amount of waste in landfill sites (TPA) continues increasing.
Beatrice as Corporate Communication & Sustainability Senior Manager of Kawan Lama Group said, “Kawan Lama Group has been undertaking efforts in responsible waste management, meaning we no longer dispose waste to landfill sites, instead cooperating with some vendors to collaborate in turning waste into valued products so circular economy can run well. We started this program by educating our employees in the first place, started by bringing lunchboxes and tumblers, using the sorting dustbins, also encouraging our customers to take part in the #GerakanSapuPlastik (sweep the plastic) movement, and sorting waste at Living Plaza Cemara Asri, Medan.”
At 21 February 2022, on the National Care for the Waste Day, Chatime as a brand of Kawan Lama Group in Food & Beverage business pillar, launched Chatime CommuniTEA program as a token of contribution to communities and environment movement. The program started with #GerakanSapuPlastik in Jakarta and Tangerang as the first phase. Cooperated with PlasticPay, Chatime urges Chatimers (Chatime enthusiasts) to recycle used Chatime cups to be processed to valued products through available dropboxes. Collected cups are then processed into eco-friendly high quality fiber material. "PlasticPay is very happy that we can cooperate with Kawan Lama Group. Our hope, together with Chatimers, we can initiate green circular economy. Started by collecting used cups, we've contributed for the environment,” expressed Yan Kurniawan as Operational General Manager of PlasticPay.
Other than that, at Kawan Lama Group's shopping center of Living Plaza Cemara Asri in Medan also applies reduce waste management, which is end-to-end waste management system, where collected waste are systematically sorted and prepared for recycling process - to become valued products and also as positive contribution regarding waste reduction effort. Its employees previously have been given special training to sort waste before brought to recycle center. Also Living Plaza visitors are urged to throw away waste based on categories: organic, inorganic, and residue. Since started operation in December 2021 - to February 2022 the amount of waste sorted at the place from organic type (food leftovers and plants) reached 390 kg - processed to compost and growing BSF larva, while inorganic waste (papers, plastics, glasses, and metals) reached 280 kg then processed to new products. Following Living World Cemara Asri, gradually the sorting dustbins will also be applied in another Kawan Lama Group locations.
Besides various real actions, Kawan Lama Group also takes part in educating the public about waste, such as holding Instagram live together with Waste4Change titled “Sorting Waste Begins from Me”, at 18 February. At the educative event, some issues were talked about - starting the types of waste, acquiring benefits from waste, to various challenges faced. This is essential, knowing that most of our public haven't sorted their waste, instead throwing away all of it into the same bin, making it hard for sorting process. If the waste is well sorted, organic waste can become compost or converted into protein source for growing black soldier fly (BSF). Inorganic waste, on the other hand, can be brought to related factories to be recycled into new products. The rest is residue waste - that is non-recyclable, will be brought to cement factory and processed to energy source for power plant at the factory.
Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano as CEO of Waste4Change appreciated various waste management initiatives carried out by Kawan Lama Group, saying, “If sorted and processed properly, waste can be converted into compost, protein, to energy, so it has benefits. This effort can also reduce the amount of waste brought into landfill sites which are overwhelmed time by time. For the tips, first, get to know information about waste sorting. Then prepare the facility, such as providing the sorting dustbins just like what Kawan Lama Group did. Then for the next step, make sure what to do after the waste is sorted, such as organic waste will be composted and brought back to the soil. Inorganic waste will be sorted and brought to nearest waste bank. For residue waste, make sure it will be brought properly. The main thing is, sorting waste starts from ourselves.
