Indonesia's local governments turn plastic waste into road signs and fuel

In Buleleng Regency, Bali, the district government began installing environmentally‑friendly road‑sign panels made from recycled HDPE plastic. The first ten signs, placed at the Titik Nol area of Singaraja, used about 1.2 tonnes of plastic collected from local waste‑bank networks. The initiative, called Buleleng Terra Sign, is a joint effort of the transportation department and the private firm Rumah Plastik Mandiri, and is presented as a tangible step toward a circular economy and cleaner urban aesthetics.

Meanwhile, the Surabaya municipal research agency (BRIDA) is piloting a pyrolysis system to convert non‑valuable plastic waste trapped in mangrove forests into usable fuel oil. The project gathers plastic that washes ashore during high tide, processes it through a pilot pyrolysis unit developed with Universitas Negeri Surabaya, and plans to supply the resulting oil to local fishermen as an alternative motor fuel. Both programmes aim to reduce plastic pollution while creating functional products for their communities.