Indonesian delegation visits DS Smith recycling depot

DS Smith, the UK’s leading sustainable packaging company has hosted an Indonesian trade delegation in its West Uxbridge recycling depot as part of a wider visit to British waste management and recycling operations.

The team of five was composed of trade envoys and senior stakeholders investigating recycling standards abroad. Indonesia is one of the many markets that DS Smith exports and supplies paper to, and the delegation heard from the company’s Recycling Division UK Exports Director, Andrew Akroyd, who focused on the importance of quality for reprocessing.

We were delighted to host the Indonesian trade delegation and showcase the processes we have in place to make sure that material leaving our UK depots meets the increasing quality standards of our overseas customers. At DS Smith, we operate a circular business model that is based on the highest quality materials. Being transparent with our trade partners is crucial to this process, and I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to further our relationship with Indonesia

— Jochen Behr, Head of Recycling at DS Smith

The issue of waste exports, particularly plastic, has recently topped the government’s agenda, with a commitment in the Queen’s Speech to ban plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries. The move follows Indonesia’s efforts to crack down on exported foreign waste after the country received and returned over 250 contaminated containers in violation of import rules this year. 

It was positive for us to see a recycling facility to get an understanding how the process works from the supply side. The visit to DS Smith was very positive and will support DS Smith as well as UK recycling supply to Indonesia in the future

— Agnieszka Grala of Baltic Control Group

The group viewed a small presentation on the 32-person Uxbridge operation which included information on recycling quality procedures and AI processes used. They were then taken on a tour to view how the depot – which processes between 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes of paper per annum – works.