JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Food and beverage industry players are urging the government to factor corporate investments in building recycling ecosystems into the performance-based Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy through an eco-modulation scheme.

 

Public Affairs Sustainability Director of Danone Indonesia, Karyanto Wibowo, stated that the implementation of EPR should not merely serve as a waste management financing mechanism, but also function as an instrument to drive packaging innovation, enhance material circularity, and bolster investment in recycling infrastructure.

 

“We believe that EPR serves not only as a waste management financing mechanism, but also as an instrument to encourage packaging innovation, increase material circularity, invest in recycling infrastructure, and develop more sustainable business models,” Karyanto said in Jakarta on Monday (Aug 31).

 

The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) previously pushed for the implementation of EPR using an eco-modulation approachoffering incentives based on an industry's environmental performance, including the use of recycled and sustainable materials.

 

Karyanto emphasized that corporate investments in collection, sorting, and recycling facilities including the empowerment of waste pickers and the development of recycled material supply chains must be credited as part of their EPR contribution.

 

According to him, this recognition is essential to prevent double charging for companies that have proactively invested in building a circular ecosystem.

 

“Companies that invested early in the circular ecosystem have helped build national capacity, which ultimately supports the achievement of government targets as well,” he added.

 

Echoing this view, Director of Government Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability at PepsiCo Indonesia, Gabrielle Angriani Johny, stated that her company supports the government's goal of creating a cleaner environment through EPR implementation.

 

“We hope the presence of this EPR regulation provides certainty for both the government and the industry in waste management,” she said.

 

Gabrielle noted that independent packaging collection and recycling initiatives already conducted by companies alongside various partners should also be accounted for under the EPR framework.

 

She suggested that the government consider fiscal incentives or business facilitation to encourage further industrial investment in recycling facilities and ecosystems.

 

She also stressed the importance of enforcing EPR in a transparent, phased, and equitable manner, backed by clear third-party verification mechanisms involving all stakeholders.

 

“Our hope is that EPR regulations and on-the-ground implementation run transparently with clear third-party verification. We hope this EPR regulation is applied transparently, evenly, and gradually, involving all stakeholders so it does not become a burden on the industry, but effectively achieves the goals of EPR itself,” she expressed.

 

Meanwhile, Director of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Indonesia (CCEP Indonesia), Dhedy Adi Nugroho, stated that eco-modulation-based EPR implementation should consider the performance of companies that have already fulfilled waste reduction obligations in accordance with existing regulations.

 

“In its implementation, companies verified to have executed the Producer Waste Reduction Roadmap pursuant to Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 75/2019 should ideally be considered within the EPR scheme. This approach is vital to drive more investment, innovation, and industrial collaboration in packaging waste management,” Dhedy noted.

 

According to him, recognizing business actors' ongoing efforts will establish a fairer and more effective EPR mechanism, supporting national waste reduction targets.

 

CCEP Indonesia is among the companies verified to have implemented the waste reduction roadmap. In 2025, the company not only collected post-consumer PET bottles, but also utilized 100 percent recycled content in 22 percent of the bottle packaging produced throughout that year.

 

[Source]