Recycle for Good
Nothing goes to waste
The SIG Foundation supports innovative projects that protect the environment and positively impact the community. Not wasting anything is a common goal of all initiatives. This also applies to the community recycling programme Recycle for Good – Acting with Purpose, which aims to bring recyclable materials back into the cycle.
Recycle for the environment
The pollution of water and soil by waste is one of the biggest problems for our environment. Recycle for Good is part of SIG's Resource+ commitment. By 2025, the global company aims to halve its environmental impact and double its benefits to society. Recycle for Good aims to encourage consumers to bring used packaging and other recyclable materials such as beverage cartons, cooking oil, cardboard, aluminium or glass to a collection point for recycling. The first Recycle for Good collection point opened in Jakarta, Indonesia, in March 2023.
Polluted paradise
With more than 274 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. Its 17,000 islands form the most extensive island state in the world and the heart of the Malay Archipelago, which combines almost all tropical and subtropical landscape types on earth in a contrasting diversity.
Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest rates of marine pollution. The island nation has been drowning in plastic waste for years. One of the main reasons is that many small islands have no waste collection and no municipal disposal system for household and other waste. Due to a lack of knowledge about the dangers involved, people dump their waste in landfills, burn it or dispose of it in the sea.
Circular economy to protect the environment
Research has shown that Indonesia produces more than 18 million tons of waste per year and around 72% of waste is managed. Indonesia is the second biggest contributor of plastic waste in the world, producing over 5 million tons of plastic waste per year with around 3 million tons disposed to the waters around the country.
With the Recycle for Good programme, SIG and the SIG Foundation want to change people’s behaviour and promote a mindful use of natural resources.
The role model from Brazil
Since 2018, SIG has supported the Brazilian social-start-up SO+MA, with the aim of motivating the community to recycle and promote environmentally conscious behaviour. With this experience and the support of SO+MA, the foundation developed its global Recycle for Good programme, which was first introduced in Indonesia and will later be replicated. Indonesia has a huge population with a potentially very significant ecological impact, provided people are gradually starting to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.
An initiative in Egypt
An initiative along the lines of Recycle for Good has also been launched in Egypt. Using a mobile app, consumers can have their used beverage cartons collected from their homes or workplaces and receive a reward for doing so. SIG is working with Tagaddod on this project, the first company in Egypt to enable the direct collection of waste from households and the food industry through technology-based solutions. The project is an example of how innovative partnerships can be used to increase recycling and circularity of used beverage cartons and other valuable materials.
Acting with purpose
Recycle for Good program in Indonesia is designed to meet the lifestyle needs of the urban population. People are made aware of the collection point via social media and directly at the shopping mall at Cibubur Junction in East Jakarta. In the drop-off container, employees of the local recycling partner Armadakemasan accept the recyclable items and educate consumers about the importance of recycling and the positive effects of the circular economy on the environment.
Depending on the value and weight of the materials dropped off, reward points are credited on the Recycle for Good app. These points can be exchanged for food vouchers or other essentials.
1. Anyone can register and participate in the program for free via the Recycle for Good app.
2. Recyclable materials are accepted and weighed free of charge at the Recycle for Good collection point.
3. Reward points are credited on the Recycle for Good app for the materials deposited according to a value scale.
4. The reward points can be exchanged for goods vouchers or services from Recycle for Good partners.
5. The deposited materials are collected and processed by a designated recycling partner.
Recycling is rewarded
Recycle for Good aims to change mindsets by demonstrating the value of recycling to individuals and communities.
This innovative model to promote recycling brings environmental and socio-economic benefits. It offers people in low-income areas the opportunity to improve their quality of life by saving money on essentials through the vouchers or learning skills that open the door to new job opportunities.
Effective sustainability strategy
Recycle for Good is an example of how SIG implements its sustainability strategy to ultimately give back more to society and the environment than it takes out. Working with rewards and recycling partners to support the collection and recycling of beverage cartons and other recyclable materials is part of this commitment.
Support us in making a real impact
The SIG Foundation supports the project.
Join us and bring your expertise, your resources or financial support to help us achieve the next steps in our project to benefit the environment even more.
