INOPLAS

There are several interconnected issues that cannot be separated from each other, which are problems in Indonesia and the world today

1.  Plastic Waste

The expanding population in Indonesia, combined with the demographic dividend, has led to increased consumer consumption levels. Consequently, the amount of consumer waste, especially plastic waste, has significantly risen. Plastic waste has become a pressing issue, with the country producing 5.4 million tons annually. Approximately 1.2 million tons of this waste ends up in the sea, posing a severe threat to the environment and marine ecosystems. In Padang City alone, about 60 tons of plastic waste are generated daily out of a total of 650 tons. 

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that less than 10 percent of plastic waste worldwide is successfully recycled. OECD noted that 460 million tons of plastic were used in 2021, nearly double the amount from 2000. During this period, the amount of plastic waste increased more than two-fold, to 353 million tons.

2. Cement Industry         

Carbon emissions, a significant contributor to climate change, pose a particular concern in Indonesia. Specifically, emissions from cement and construction production constitute 8% of the country's total carbon emissions. Indonesia ranks among the largest carbon emitters globally. According to data from the Global Carbon Atlas website, global carbon dioxide emissions reached approximately 36 thousand metric tons (MtCO₂) in 2021, with Indonesia contributing 615.93 MtCO₂, accounting for approximately 1.72% of the total global emissions. This places Indonesia as the 10th highest contributor to carbon emissions worldwide.

3. Extreme Weather and Natural Disaster

Indonesia is frequently affected by various climate change-induced disasters, including strong winds, floods, wildfires, landslides, and droughts. Additionally, due to its location within the Ring of Fire, earthquakes are common. Among these, wildfires and land fires (karhutla) were the most common natural disasters in 2023, with 1,802 incidents recorded in Indonesia. Furthermore, there were 1,170 flood events in 2023. The country also experienced extreme weather conditions and landslides, with 1,155 and 579 occurrences, respectively. Additionally, there were 168 instances of drought and 31 earthquakes and tidal waves/erosions in 2023. These extreme weather events and natural disasters result in significant damage to both public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and private infrastructure, such as homes, leading to substantial losses for communities.

4. Housing Backlog

Climate change indirectly impacts escalating house prices, as the narrowing options for areas safe from extreme weather conditions, such as floods, particularly in urban areas like Jakarta and Padang, have contributed to a housing backlog of 12 million homes in Indonesia. This backlog disproportionately affects the millennial generation and low-income individuals. In Padang, the housing backlog amounts to 300,000 houses, while Jakarta faces a shortage of 1.2 million houses.

Can we address the issues above in an efficient and effective way?

By utilizing plastic waste and processed into building materials in the form of mortar-plastic walls, which are processed from shredded and heated plastic waste. Then molded into walls panel coated with mortar that are easy to install and can be used as a substitute for the common red bricks used in house construction. Our product is affordable, resistant to extreme weather and disasters, and environmentally friendly. This product is called INOPLAS, which stands for “Inovasi Plastik” in Bahasa which translates to "Plastic Innovation" in English.

Based on data, an individual disposes of 20 kg of waste per year in Indonesia. If they live for 80 years, they will dispose of 1.6 tons of waste. If there are 4 people in the family, the total plastic waste generated throughout their lifetime is 6.4 tons. Interestingly, if they build a house from Inoplas, the recycled plastic waste would almost equal the total plastic waste disposed of in their lifetime. Because to build a house, it takes around 2-5 tons plastic wastes

Inoplas, as a mortar-plastic waste wall product that is affordable, earthquake-safe, and environmentally friendly, will be a solution for Indonesia in addressing the problem of plastic waste. Here are the solutions that can be offered by Inoplas:

1. Plastic Waste 

Used as Inoplas products will have a much better value in the circular economy and sustainability issues. The volume of plastic waste needed for house walls will be very large.

2. Lighter Weight

Thus the construction load on buildings for structural elements will be lighter compared to red bricks, resulting in smaller structural element dimensions, which will certainly save costs in building a house. The dimensions of this wall panels are 120cm x 60cm x 7cm

3. Safe from Extreme Weather and Natural Disaster

Because plastic waste is lighter and more elastic compared to red bricks. Additionally, in the event of a strong earthquake that causes collapse, Inoplas concrete plastic walls have a smaller risk impact compared to red brick walls. This is because the weight of the panel walls is lighter than bricks. Moreover, the type of collapse is partial or partial, not massive. This means that if the building collapses, the panels collapse one by one due to their assembly, whereas brick walls will experience massive collapse all at once, which would be catastrophic if people were underneath.

4. Easier/Faster Installation and Affordable

This is because the building method used with these concrete plastic walls is prefabricated construction. This means that building components such as structural elements and walls are prefabricated first and then assembled on-site. This can reduce time and material costs as well as labor costs.

Upstream

1. Waste Collectors 

We will collaborate extensively with waste collectors because we need a large amount of plastic waste as raw material. With our significant demand for raw materials, collectors will sell more plastic waste, increasing their income and ultimately improving their economy.

2. Construction Workers 

Our product is very easy to apply/work with, using a modular system to build house walls quickly and at a much more affordable price than red bricks. We hope that more people will want to build houses due to the efficiency and effectiveness of the wall construction process.

Therefore, as the demand for house construction increases, construction workers will receive more requests for house construction, especially for wall construction

Downstream

1. Millennial Market and Low-Income Communities

Inoplas targets the young/millennial market and low-income communities who are interested in owning affordable homes in city centers that are livable, earthquake-safe, and environmentally friendly. On the other hand, Indonesia currently has a housing backlog of 12,715,297 unit according to data from the Housing and Real Estate Information System (2022).

To focus our consumers, we will concentrate on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities such as Jakarta and Padang. Housing in city centers has become increasingly expensive over the years, but demand continues to rise by 10% with a 5% price increase. 

2.  Property Developers

Additionally, we are also trying to collaborate with property developers. With the increasing demand for housing and interventions from various parties such as the government and society in reducing CO2 emissions in the use of cement for the construction industry, which accounts for 8% of total CO2 emissions produced. Therefore, companies can build their brand image for the long term by embracing an environmentally friendly, earthquake-safe, and affordable housing concept.

If we look at the issue of plastic waste in Indonesia, it is increasingly becoming a threat to life. Landfills, especially in several big cities like Jakarta and Padang, can hardly accommodate the capacity of incoming waste. This is a concern for our team as residents of these cities. If this plastic waste is not utilized and its large quantity/volume is not used for other purposes such as building materials, then this waste will scatter around the living areas because there is no longer a suitable place for it.

Our team comes from the millennial generation. We feel that climate change is increasingly affecting every individual's life in our city. Unpredictable weather, floods, and landslides are routine disasters in this tropical country of Indonesia. Additionally, earthquakes are also a regular disaster because Indonesia is located in an earthquake-prone area.

It is known that the demographic population of Indonesia is increasing. We, as millennials, feel that urban areas are becoming more crowded. This has resulted in the difficulty of finding living accommodations and a rapid increase in housing prices compared to income from work.

Therefore, the three of us are motivated to contribute to our country and the world. We hope to provide solutions to these problems and are supported by strong determination.

By creating wall panel products from plastic waste + mortar for prospective consumers, we hope to bridge the reduction of plastic waste, reduce the price of building materials, especially house walls, and create a more environmentally friendly solution to prevent climate change.

For now, we are in the prototype stage. We are currently seeking our product-market fit. Fortunately, there are already 3 potential customers who have had discussions with us and they are ready to try our product

In line with our vision to make an impact on the world in terms of climate change, we are participating in Solve because the most important thing is networking with teams from around the world. We are excited to collaborate with various parties in finding the best solutions for climate change issues. Furthermore, the mentoring from this program, provided by Solve, will give us a global perspective.

The growth in the consumption of Indonesian society and consumption patterns that are laden with the use of plastic packaging require an aggressive solution in terms of the quantity of processing for the plastic waste generated.

Our approach in finding this solution is to change our perspective that plastic waste is a source of raw materials that has economic value. Plastic waste is not waste but a raw material. This environmentally friendly business principle is commonly known as the Circular Economy System. We must befriend plastic waste until we find environmentally friendly plastic technology that is also very affordable compared to traditional methods.

Bricks made from a mixture of sand with plastic waste or bricks made from 100% plastic waste are good solutions. However, a new problem arises: plastic waste mixed with other plastics cannot be recycled. This will become microplastics if the bricks are not used when the building is no longer in use and demolished. The circular economy system is not achieved repeatedly. Furthermore, plastic bricks made from 100% plastic waste, when used for walls, besides increasing the risk of microplastics due to the hot temperatures in tropical environments, the unpleasant room aroma will disturb the comfort of the occupants. Moreover, if a fire occurs, plastic waste will become a catalyst for the fire itself even though it has been melted. The processing pattern is the same and as long as traditional bricks when duplicated in the field. Lastly, from a psychological perspective, consumer tastes have concerns about quality, aesthetics, and durability even though the bricks have passed standard material testing.

From the various emerging issues mentioned above, we can conclude why the adoption of using plastic waste for bricks has not become massive among the community.

So, the solution we create is simple but very fundamental and game-changing. Yes, we make the bricks superior. The way to avoid microplastics, reduce the strong plastic aroma, and be fire-resistant is to coat the melted plastic waste with mortar. To achieve a circular economy that can be said to be eternal, we separate the mortar from the plastic waste so that when the buildings are no longer used and demolished, especially the waste in the mortar, can be easily separated. To speed up the construction process, we make them into panel shapes, which of course is much faster in construction. By implementing the above solution approach, it will be accepted by more people psychologically.

Problem: As the population increases, consumption will also increase. This leads to uncontrolled waste from consumption such as plastic waste and carbon emissions from industrial waste like cement. Additionally, the need for living space will also increase, leading to a higher demand for housing and resulting in increased housing prices. The negative effect of all this is climate change, which causes extreme weather.

Solution: Turn plastic waste + mortar into affordable, weather-resistant, disaster-safe, comfortable, and environmentally friendly house wall panels.

Theory of Change:

Activities: Making wall panels from plastic waste + mortar

Outputs: House walls with a modular system.

Short-Term Outcomes: The realization of housing that utilizes plastic waste for building wall materials. 

Long-Term Outcomes: Increasing adoption of the use of wall panels from plastic waste in society as collective awareness in Indonesia and worldwide. 

Impact: A significant reduction in plastic waste in the environment. It can be used as an environmentally friendly material at an affordable price. This allows everyone to have a decent, safe, comfortable, and environmentally responsible home worldwide. And indirectly, the creation of a circular economy as one of the best systems in tackling climate change.

We create simple and easy-to-implement targets that have a real impact.

1. Impact Goal: We aim to reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment.

   • Indicator: 5 tons of plastic waste successfully recycled every month.
   • Measurement: Monitoring the amount of plastic waste processed into new products each month and comparing it with the set target.

2. Impact Goal: Increase public awareness about the importance of recycling plastic waste.

   • Indicator: 2 individuals building homes using Inoplas products every month for this year.
   • Measurement: Counting the number of consumers using our products.

Stage I:

1. Plastic waste is collected.
2. Then separated by type.
3. Then crushed into small granules.

Stage II:

1. After that, melted at high temperature.
2. Then molded and compacted/pressed into rectangular/square panels. (120cmx60cmx4cm)

Stage III:

1. Then the finished plastic molds are reinforced with steel wire strips for plastic waste to make them stronger.
2. After that, the top and bottom sides are plastered with mortar to make them stronger, thus forming a plastic concrete wall.

3 management teams

We have been running this company for a year now

In our management team, there are various educational backgrounds that support the progress of our company. We have a leader in civil engineering with strong technical skills and over 8 years of experience in the construction industry. He is proficient in material quality management and material testing. Additionally, we have a leader in architecture and design with over 10 years of experience. He excels in design management and quality control for large-scale projects such as high-rise buildings. Lastly, our company has a leader in business process management and branding, who is also a determined woman. She has a keen interest in impactful business processes that help many people. In the future, we will expand our management team and employee base.

Furthermore, we collaborate with waste pickers and waste collectors to provide raw materials for plastic waste. More than 15 people are involved in this business process. They come from various backgrounds and groups, and we highly value their work ethic. They are at the forefront of environmental conservation

Inoplas targets the young/millennial market and low-income communities who are interested in owning affordable housing in the city center, livable, safe from extreme weather and natural disasters, and environmentally friendly. On the other hand, Indonesia currently has a housing backlog of 12,715,297 unit according to the Housing and Real Estate Information System (2022). To focus our consumers, we will concentrate on tier 1 and tier 2 cities such as Jakarta and Padang. The price of houses in the city center increases every year, but demand continues to rise by 10% with a 5% price increase. Thus, Inoplas can capture this market niche.

Additionally, we also aim to collaborate with property developers. With the increasing demand for housing but interventions from various parties such as the government and society in reducing CO2 emissions in the use of cement for construction industries, which contribute 8% of CO2 emissions from the total produced. Thus, companies can build their brand image for the long term by promoting an environmentally friendly, disaster-safe, and affordable housing concept.

To achieve financial sustainability as a profit and impact-oriented business, we have implemented several schemes:

1. Bootstraping: In the initial stages of execution, we self-funded our activities to finance our early operations.

2. Grant funding: We participate in various grant competitions. Most recently, we received a grant from SEED, a collaboration between UNDP, Adelphi, and The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building, and Nuclear Safety of Germany. This grant provides facilities for our company, including legal financing and equipment.

We will implement several schemes this year :

1. Product sales: We are currently ready to begin sales to validate the market as we have completed our product prototype. There are 3 potential consumers who have expressed interest in trying our product. Our target in the next 4 months is to achieve product-market fit and create 5 pilot projects. We are confident that we can grow rapidly.

2. Investment collection: In the long term, we aim to scale up our company and will require significant investment.