Turning plastic waste into opportunity in Indonesia

Dr Tony Vo from Monash Engineering has travelled to Indonesia with members of the Precious Plastic Monash (PPM) student team - Amelie Winter, Ashley Lau, Janeeta Molla, Jules Kabore, A. Khansa Naura and Samantha D’Alia - to share their work in plastic sustainability and community engagement.

The team delivered hands-on workshops to more than 50 students (Grades 1 to 9) at the Sekolah Alam Solo Raya Community Centre, where participants explored circular economy concepts by transforming rice husk waste into coasters and designing cardboard shoes that balanced comfort, usability, aesthetics and resource cost.

The PPM team also presented to 70 Universitas Sebelas Maret staff and students across engineering, science and IT education, sharing their experiences with PPM and encouraging the development of a local Precious Plastic chapter.

Alongside the outreach, the group experienced Indonesia’s rich culture, visiting the Prambanan and Borobudur temples. The team extends sincere thanks to Universitas Sebelas Maret and Sekolah Alam Solo Raya, especially Professors Indah Widiastuti and Cucuk Budiyanto for their warm hospitality and support.

We congratulate PPM students for representing Monash University with professionalism, enthusiasm and care. The visit was a meaningful exchange of knowledge, culture and connection, supported by Monash Innovation Labs (Monash Student Teams Initiative) and DFAT through the Australia Indonesia Institute, highlighting a bright future for plastic sustainability.