Plastic Raw Materials Scarce, Producers Mix Recycled with Virgin Materials
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian Plastic Olefin Aromatic Industry Association (Inaplas) states that plastic producers are now beginning to boldly use mixtures of recycled raw materials with virgin materials.
Inaplas Secretary General Fajar Budiono said the blending is being done because plastic raw materials are becoming increasingly limited while demand remains high.
“They are already starting to dare to use mixtures of recycled materials with virgin materials or pure plastic raw materials,” Fajar said when contacted by Kompas.com on Thursday (2/4/2026).
Oil refineries processing crude oil in Gulf countries are also affected, leading to even scarcer raw materials.
Naphtha is a compound derived from crude oil. This hydrocarbon compound is obtained from petrochemical processes.
“If we don’t mix it with recycled plastic, there will be price differences that ultimately make the prices unaffordable,” Fajar said.
Producers also have to seek alternative materials as substitutes. For example, plastics are mixed with paper, metals, and others.
Another effort is to change the weight or dimensions of the plastic without reducing the function of the bag.
“For example, cracker plastic that previously used a thickness of 100 microns can be reduced to 80 or 70 microns without reducing the function of the packaging itself,” he said.
“For household appliances, a larger mixture of recycled plastic can be used,” he added.
Although they are starting to find some light at the end of the tunnel, the delivery of these raw material supplies takes up to 50 days, much longer than the average delivery from the Strait of Hormuz, which ranges from 10-15 days.
“This new supply source is outside the Middle East (Western Asia), so the fastest it takes them is 50 days,” Fajar explained.
For instance, Gemi, a spice trader at Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta, said the price of plastic has jumped to Rp 6,000 per pack.
This situation has caused his capital expenditure to swell and his profit margins from trading spices to become increasingly squeezed.
“This is usually Rp 17 (thousand) now Rp 23 (thousand). Same for everything, basically plastic per pack Rp 6 thousand,” Gemi said on Saturday (28/3/2026).