From bean to plastic
Permana is working to create a more environmentally-friendly plastic from the castor oil bean. His bigger goal is to find more industrial uses for the vast number of tropical plants that thrive in Indonesia. Creating plastic from plants will help the country manage its waste disposal problems.
“My focus is on utilizing Indonesian potential," Yessi said. "The biomass is so abundantly available here. My motivation is doing this so I can say to the foreign companies, you want to come to my country do not export the raw materials, buy the end products.”
Although many companies now create plastic from renewable resources to avoid the use of chemical fuel, Permana says his research is unique because it uses non-edible materials that will not clog landfills.