La Saponaria in Jakarta: when our ocean plastic bottle supplier invited us we couldn't believe it! And yet here we are, having come to know a splendid reality that has been able to transform a disastrous situation into an opportunity for the people who live here and for the environment. We talk about the recyclable materials we use for our products, marine plastics and the project behind to collect it in this article on our blog. But let's proceed in order.
Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world. Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, the country is made up of more than 17,000 islands and, right in the center, we find the capital.
It is a metropolis that perfectly reflects the diversity and vitality of this extraordinary nation: with a population of over 10 million people, Jakarta is one of the busiest cities in the world and an important cultural, financial and commercial centre. It offers a fascinating mix of tradition and unbridled modernity and as we walk its bustling streets, we are enveloped in a kaleidoscope of colour, sound and flavour. Very large and very modern shopping centers are flanked by traditional markets and crossing a forest of futuristic skyscrapers we come across an ancient temple. The city is super chaotic, but inside it also has wonderful parks in which to switch off and feel immersed in nature.
What is clear to the eye is that we are at the center of many living contradictions: the streets of the center are super-rich, but you just need to turn the corner to find yourself faced with rampant poverty. What we have understood is that the government of such a large nation is unable to take care of all its inhabitants: there is a lack of access to basic care, education and even waste management.
Here, for example, if a person wants to separate waste collection, he has to pay a private company. The government is unable to deal with this aspect and simply in many areas of the capital it does not deal with waste collection: the local authorities that manage urban cleaning go up to a certain point. The rest of the city, especially the suburbs and poorer areas are left to their own devices. Now let's imagine what amount of waste 10 million people are able to produce every day. If a large part of this waste is not collected, what will happen to it? It will end up in the sea. As we have said, Indonesia is an archipelago of islands, the sea surrounds every corner of the nation and it is no coincidence that the sea around Jakarta is one of the most polluted in the world with regard to plastic pollution.
There is someone who hasn't given up, someone who is trying to change things and even if sometimes you really feel like emptying the sea with a teaspoon, every contribution is important: the ocean without this little drop would be smaller, to quote our favorite phrase from Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
In fact, the ReSea project was born a few years ago, which deals with collecting plastic in different areas, including a small island located in front of Jakarta that the locals call "The plastic island", to make it clear what it is. Once upon a time, fishermen came here to catch fish, then as the years went by and pollution increased, fish became increasingly scarce and many found themselves out of work: let's imagine seeing your world suffocating in plastic and even losing your source of livelihood because of it.
The ReSea project therefore involved these fishermen, giving them a new opportunity and creating a virtuous system for the recycling of plastic collected from the sea. And today things work like this: each fisherman collects around 300 - 330 kg of plastic every week. This maximum limit has been established in order to be able to have the right balance between the collection and one's private life. In this way the fishermen involved are able to earn a salary that is higher than the average of the rest of the population and the payment takes place once a week. Initially this proposal was not well received: in fact we are talking about small fishermen used to fishing and selling their catch at the market on the same day. So it was normal for them to have a daily wage.
Most of these people cannot read or write and thanks to the project they have used a mobile phone for the first time in their lives: in fact, they have to enter the data on the plastic they collect in an app and then take what they have collected to one of the association's 3 collection points. They don't have access to banks, so they get paid in cash.
The ReSea project is therefore not only beautiful in terms of the positive impact it manages to generate on the environment but also in terms of its beautiful human component: the fishermen, or collectors as they are called within the association, thanks to the salary they earn with this work are happy, have more hope for the future and were very keen to show us their houses and introduce us to their wives.
"The gratitude in their eyes was moving and priceless. I think I only understood the true value of a fair project there" says Lucia.
Sara adds: "One thing that struck me throughout our journey is that the people involved in the project are all smiling, unlike us who often - having too much - forget to give value to the really important things".
The collectors collect the plastic on their boats and take it to a first storage centre. From there the load leaves to then arrive in a warehouse where the plastic is separated manually: this is necessary to allow correct recycling!
The plastic is divided between colored and transparent and then it is divided by colour: it is a painstaking job in which you have to be very careful! For example, the tape must be removed to allow the plastic to be as clean and uniform as possible. Then there is a part of plastic that cannot be recycled, such as snack packs for example: these are sorted and then taken to be disposed of.
Once separated, the plastic is then pressed and taken to another factory that creates fragments: at this point it can be recycled and new objects are created, such as our bottles that we use for Mirtilla Mousse and Shaving Mousse.
No, ocean plastic probably won't save the world or Jakarta. Only with coordinated action between the state and private businesses, as well as raising awareness among the population and involving everyone, will it be possible to see a real difference over time. A curiosity about this metropolis, the speech that was on everyone's lips when we were there: Jakarta is sinking. This phenomenon has various factors, first of all the wild construction of skyscrapers in a fragile area. A key role is also played by the disproportionate extraction of groundwater, combined with the lack of adequate drainage infrastructure. The fact is that some areas are already below sea level and there is talk of transferring the whole city to another area. It would truly be a dream to have a fairer city, organized from all points of view, including that of waste collection and management.
In the meantime, ReSea fishermen will continue to collect their kilos of garbage and plastic, day after day, thus becoming part of the solution and not the problem.
Being part of the solution and not of the problem is also what we at La Saponaria strongly want to be.
At the end of our experience in Indonesia we bring home a flood of smiles, the happiness seen in the eyes of the fishermen proud to introduce us to their families and to invite us to their homes, a renewed awareness that our small everyday gestures and our choices can have a huge impact on the environment. The plastic problem in the sea is enormous, but together we can make a difference.
And this is a photo they send us the day after we return home: happy to have met those who don't give up in the face of a huge problem but do everything to solve it, managing to give new life to an area otherwise destined for total abandonment.