Indonesian state-owned electricity company PLN has signed a partnership agreement with local waste management startup Rekosistem as part of an effort to diversify the country’s power generation capacity.
Rekosistem is one of four startups PLN has announced partnerships with in the hope of building a sustainable ecosystem. The other three startups are Kanggo, an on-demand repair and maintenance services platform; Fresh Factory, a cold chain logistic startup; and manufacturing startup Imajin.
The team-up with Rekosistem, PLN says, will not only push the firm to become more environmentally friendly, but will also help steer Indonesia away from an over-reliance on coal for electricity generation.
In fact, about 60 percent of electricity is generated using coal to power steam power plants, which is known to cause severe pollution and is regarded a major cause of climate change.
PLN identifies household waste, through waste-to-energy process, as a potential alternative source of electricity generation in Indonesia, and sees Rekosistem as the partner to help it achieve this goal.
Rekosistem co-founder and CEO Ernest Layman says using waste to power electricity do not just present environmental benefit, but can also bring about commercial rewards.
“Waste can be used to produce electricity without huge amounts of capital expense,” he says.
Rekosistem, which in August raised a $5 million funding round led by Skystar Capital, has developed an integrated waste management system using the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning to simplify and improve waste collection efficiency by 49%.
In 2023, it claims to have increased waste productivity to 523% for recycling, upcycling, and waste-to-energy, while also increasing waste workers’ income by 117%. Rekosistem also serves more than 100+ business customers and 20,000+ households, reaching 100,000+ people and managing 2,500+ Metric Tons of waste per month.