What is your business about?

The company collects high-value polystyrene plastic bottles from junk shops and collection centers and processes them into new materials, such as carpets, shoes, bags, T-shirts, and packaging. The company also recycles flimsier, low-value plastics, such as shopping bags, shampoo sachets, and food wrappers, which are gathered by families who can benefit from the supplemental income the collection provides. Through being based in Indonesia, we aim to create more employments in Indonesia too.

Your commitment to solution of plastic pollution and to increasing employment and entrepreneurship in Indonesia is impressive. Can you share a little bit about how you came to found Tridi Oasis?

I had always dreamt of being an entrepreneur, and I knew that I wanted my business to have a positive environmental impact. For my first job out of college in Jakarta, I was sent to Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua to consult for a global mining corporation. The island’s natural beauty was stunning, but I was struck by the devastation the ore mining caused as I drove from her residence in the valley up to the job site in the mountains each day. Where once was mountaintop was now a deep depression in the landscape. The pipes carrying the ore concentrate off the mountain leaked often, and landslides were an almost weekly occurrence. Back in Jakarta, I began to pay even more attention to another growing environmental problem: plastic waste. I saw it everywhere. In addition to its effect on sea life and coastal communities, the plastic also clogged streets, frequently leading to flooding. I continued to work for consulting firms while researching the problem in my free time. By 2015, I quit consulting and dove headfirst into her idea to turn plastic waste into a resource.

I also encountered realizations about environmental issues in Indonesia, motivating me to do something. I find your story very encouraging. How did you go about expanding your efforts?

I think that finding investors and partners were important. Their investments helped my company grow. I was lucky to get investors who are interested in environmental sustainability.

It is nice to hear the support for businesses tackling environmental issues. Your company uses technological elements to tackle environmental issues? Do you think that these scientific technologies are essential in solving environmental issues?

Yes, I think technologies are essential. Educated people can come up with solutions using technologies, so both educational activities and technological approaches are needed.

Do you have any last message for the readers?

I think we need more players in the field, committed to solving environmental issues. I love that you are working on spreading awareness, and I hope you can also be a leading player that inspires others.

Thank you so much, Ms. Dian. I hope I can contribute and one day work with you on the global-scale solution.

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