23recyclinginternational.com | March/April | 2023
COUNTRY REPORT
THE YOUNG ONES
What’s more, Indonesia has a very
young population. More than half of its
280 million people are under the age
of 30. Indonesia is expected to be the
third largest contributor to the middle-
class over the next decade, after only
China and India. ‘Obviously, this offers
great opportunities for businesses,
including recycling,’ says Craipeau,
who has lived in Southeast Asia for 18
years and is currently based in
Singapore.
In 2017, Craipeau came to Surabaya to
meet a business friend. ‘At that time I
primarily focused on plastic scrap trad-
ing but I had serious plans to start my
own plant and operation. So I asked
my friend which country he would
advise: Malaysia or Vietnam? He said:
“Max, why not Indonesia. Next door is
an empty hall – want to use it? How
many people do you need?” The rest is
history.’
STEADY GROWTH
After a humble kick-off with one
extruder in 2018, Greencore now has
four extrusion lines and a fifth unit is
on the way, two washing lines, shred-
ders, you name it. Next to the produc-
tion hall is a huge hall for stock.
Greencore has 35 full-time equivalent
staff working 24/7 across three shifts,
six days a week.
Craipeau handles five types of materi-
als, PC, PE, PG, PP, PET, which are
sourced from industrial suppliers all
over Java while materials are also com-
ing in through the informal sector.
The 20 litre water tanks used in
Indonesian households and offices
form a big part of the materials han-
dled. ‘To date we’ve processed thou-
sands of these,’ he says. ‘They’re also
brought in by ship from other islands.’
LARGE AND SMALL BAGS
Plastics arriving at Greencore are first
shredded, then washed and dried,
before they go to the extruder and are
ultimately processed into new pellets.
The materials are packed in bags –
large and small. ‘Chinese don’t want
big bags, that’s too heavy to handle,’
Craipeau explains. The pellets are
shipped to end users across south-east
Asia, predominantly China.
Greencore complies with all the major
processing standards, including the
Global Recyclers Standard (GRS). The
facility in Surabaya has its own lab and
R&D.
Fotobijschrift
Max Craipeau: ‘In Indonesia chemical recycling is the future for hard-to-
recycle, multi-layer household plastics.’
Made in Indonesia.
22-23-24_countryreport-deel2.indd 23 15-03-2023 11:42
