Greencore receives World Bank bond funding

Hong Kong-based Greencore Resources has been selected as one of two primary beneficiaries of Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bonds, and Greencore CEO Max Craipeau says the funding will go toward scaling up efforts underway in Surabaya, Indonesia, to divert and recycle ocean-bound plastic.

The newly designed bonds are issued by the World Bank and structured by Citigroup and The Plastic Collective. The latter United Kingdom-based group has been a proponent in the development and deployment of the Verra Plastic Program.

Approximately $14 million in bond financing is being provided to two organizations: Greencore for its recycling facility in Indonesia and the ASASE Foundation, which engages in plastic recycling activities in Ghana.

The funds already are being deployed to add food-grade recycled-content polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) reprocessing equipment at the Greencore SEArcular facility in Surabaya.

That plant currently focuses on hard-to-recycle No. 7 plastics. “SEArcular, as its name implies, is on a mission to halt plastic sea pollution and promote circularity,” Craipeau says, adding that his Surabaya reprocessing plant also was the first in Indonesia to have secured ocean-bound plastic certification conferred by Zero Plastic Oceans (ZPO) and Control Union.

“We started with one recycling line in 2018 and have expended since then to five," he tells Recycling Today.

“It is our goal to become the most advanced and preferred supplier of food-grade circular rPET for the major brand owners in Indonesia and help them in their mission to be more and more sustainable."

By entering the premium rPET food-grade market, Greencore says it can leverage higher value and volume through a pull mechanism enabling increased support and collection from waste pickers, who Craipeau says are the “unsung heroes of our plastic-ridden world.” The move also will help gather more potentially ocean-bound plastic.

Craipeau says SEArcular’s new rPET line is not just an upgrade but a strategic move into a higher tier of the recycling industry, enhancing both its recycling capacity and capability. He also points to what he calls a significant social impact of his business model in Indonesia supported by the World Bank's funding criteria.

According to The Plastic Collective, the supported projects have development co-benefits including direct and indirect employment for over 1,000 individuals from nearby underserved communities, of which half are expected to be women.

The projects provide staff and informal waste collectors with personal protective equipment and health and safety training and have climate co-benefits by reducing new plastic production, according to the organizations.

While Citi and the World Bank provide funding, The Plastic Collective has been crucial in the development of plastic credits, adding a layer of credibility and strategic insight, Craipeau says, referring in part to the Verra registry. “This model not only garners financial support but sets a precedent for Greencore’s approach to be foundational in the expansion of a reliable plastic waste reduction credits market, echoing the evolution seen in carbon credits," he says.

Craipeau, who has been part of the recycling industry for more than two decades and has served on committees for the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling, says it is satisfying to have the backing of global heavyweights like Citi and the World Bank.

“I was in recycling before recycling was cool—and it certainly has not always been easy,” he says. “Now, the Citigroup, Plastic Collective and the World Bank’s selection of the SEArcular project in Indonesia for global funding underscores our strategic and pioneering response to ocean plastic pollution.”