Sustainable Steps Through Plastic Bottle Waste Recycling Efforts at Borobudur Temple

Environmentally friendly and sustainable destination management is a commitment in the management of the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park destination. This World Heritage Site needs to be supported by strategic steps to protect its area from various damages, one of which is to keep the environment clean and sustainable.

PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko or InJourney Destination Management invites every visitor or tourist who comes to participate in preserving nature in this National cultural heritage area. This is done by presenting Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) as part of a progressive green initiative. 

InJourney Destination Management Commercial Director Hetty Herawati said that RVM is here as a solution that allows visitors to exchange used plastic bottles with direct incentives digitally. This encourages awareness and the role of individuals to be involved in preserving this iconic tourist area. 

"The installation of RVM is a real step to create collective awareness about the importance of plastic waste management, especially in areas that are major tourist destinations and have high historical and cultural values ​​such as Borobudur Temple. Visitors can enter used plastic bottles and exchange them for digital incentives directly, thus encouraging fun and directly impactful recycling behavior," explained Hetty Herawati, in Magelang, Friday (16/5/2025).

Concrete steps to encourage behavior recycle This plastic beverage bottle was presented through a collaboration between InJourney Destination Management and PT Meccaya and Plasticpay. This is stated in the Signing of the Cooperation Agreement on Joint Utilization of Placement Space Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Plasticpay in the Borobudur Temple Area.

The signing was carried out by IDM Commercial Director Hetty Herawati with MECCAYA President Director Ricky Surya Prakasa at the Borobudur Temple Tourism Park, Magelang, Central Java, Tuesday (13/5/2025). On that occasion, a symbolic handover was also carried out Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) Plasticpay which is planned to be placed at the tourist return shelter. 

Marketing Director Meccaya Ferry Salim expressed his commitment to support sustainability and the balance of nature. One of the important things to do is to educate the wider community to support the plastic bottle recycling process, which has an impact on reducing waste in the environment.

"Together, we must think ahead so that nature can be balanced, because we live and breathe here. Through this RVM, we hope to reduce plastic waste massively and can produce quality products through the results of this plastic recycling, so that the circular economy runs and has a broad impact on society," he explained.

In addition to supporting environmental conservation, this initiative is also expected to open up training opportunities for the community in processing waste into marketable goods. According to Ferry, it is important to not only produce recycled products, but also make them attractive in design so that consumers are interested.

"So we also utilize the local community and hopefully we can continue to develop this, hopefully we can also raise public awareness," he continued.

Plasticpay Chief Operating Officer (COO) Ian Kurniawan Setiadi said that RVM is one hundred percent the work of the nation's children to sort plastic bottle waste which can then be exchanged for points automatically.

"This prompted us to create a solution in the form of a digital-based social behavioral platform that invites the public to exchange plastic waste for exchangeable points. We invite all elements of society to collaborate in this effort recycling this," he said.

InJourney Destination Management Commercial Director Hetty Herawati added that there are 20 villages in the Borobudur Temple area that will be very open to receiving this initiative. According to her, one incentive to reduce plastic waste through recycling is not only developing a circular economy, but also building good habits for the environment and the area as a whole.

The implementation of technology such as RVM is in line with the vision of Borobudur Temple as a sustainable tourism destination that combines cultural preservation, the environment, and community welfare. This initiative is also a real example of how a world heritage site can be a pioneer in implementing green solutions.

"We hope this step can be an inspiration for other tourist areas to adopt similar technology in supporting environmental conservation. Appreciation to all parties, and InJourney will continue to support and we are fully committed to building a sustainable and responsible destination," he concluded.