Innovating with 3RProMar — No-Trash Triangle Initiative

We've been selected as recipients for innovation funding by GIZ, the German Society for International Cooperation. The grant is provided through GIZ’s 3RProMar programme and will support our efforts to install new river barriers on some of Manado’s major waterways as well as allowing us to invest in a vehicle to support our collection efforts.

No-Trash Triangle alongside other funding recipients at 3RProMar’s awards ceremony

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Protect the Marine Environment and Coral Reefs or 3RProMar, is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat. The project has outposts in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Phillippines and Vietnam - areas of high marine biodiversity - and aims to tackle plastic pollution through improved waste management. Manado is a key region of interest for the Indonesian operation and the project asked for submissions from local groups and organisations earlier this year which demonstrated a circular economic model.

Our application focused on the waste flowing into the ocean via the waterways of Manado. A 3RProMar study found that over 1,200 tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste enters the sea every year. We’ve been working with our logistics partner, DSG, and the Manado Environmental Agency (DLH) to collect waste from river barriers in Manado for the past year. We have recently launched a partnership with Oceanworks and are receiving income via plastic credits for the waste collected at these river barriers. This steady stream of income means that the project is self-sustaining so the funding request was focused on investment in the supporting infrastructure required to scale our river based operation. The current set of river barriers are designed in a way that still lets quite a bit of rubbish through. Having researched the various options, we put forward the Plastic Fischer TrashBoom barrier as a robust, sturdy solution. We also requested funding for a vehicle to support our collection efforts.

Impressed by the circular economic model we’ve created, GIZ announced No-Trash Triangle as one of the winners of the funding last week. We estimate that this project will mean that 250+ tonnes of plastic waste from Manado’s waterways will be collected and properly treated, 53 tonnes of which is likely to be recyclable. That’s 250 tonnes of plastic waste that otherwise would have ended up in Bunaken National Park, threatening the stunning marine environment that makes the region so popular with tourists.

We are delighted to be awarded this funding and look forward to getting started with the next phase of our river work in 2024.

*This project is funded by financial means of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.