Heng Hiap Industries, a fully integrated plastic recycling company in Malaysia with 19 years of experience, is working with Capgemini to come up with a business roadmap for a new mobile application which rewards and simplifies the process of plastic waste recycling for consumers in their communities.
Heng Hiap Industries works with over 28,000 domestic plastic recyclers to buy and convert plastic scraps into high performance resin before selling it to clients. However, the company was struggling to meet the demand for quality recycled plastic as the collection processes were manual and complex, involving pen and paper transactions as well as in-person negotiation.
With Capgemini’s help, Heng Hiap began to digitally transform its plastic recycling operations – aiming to collect more and better-quality plastic by extending its collection infrastructure beyond informal collectors and grassroots recyclers to the household level through a simplified and user-friendly collection process.
In the long term, the plastic recycling company envisions creating a truly circular economy for plastics by helping its business-to-business (B2B) customers address the growing pressure from eco-conscious consumers for greater transparency and traceability.
Bringing the vision to reality through a mobile app
A team of experts from Capgemini’s Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE) and specialists in design and digital customer experience, worked with Heng Hiap to craft a 5-year business model to make the company’s vision a reality – starting with a mobile application.
The application was designed to revolutionise the plastic recycling process by giving consumers a new means of recycling their waste. Through the app, consumers were able to request for a pickup of their recyclables from their doorstep while collectors can respond to requests, plan routes, track consumer satisfaction ratings, and receive payments digitally.
With the application, collection is made easier, and it motivates consumers to recycle their plastic waste by gamifying the process that allows consumers to earn points each time they recycle their plastics.
Not only is Heng Hiap able to gain a new source of plastic directly from households that can be sorted and cleaned, but they are also able to enhance their visibility on the transportation and overall processing of plastic waste.
“In short, we make plastic recycling simple, convenient, and worthwhile,” said Seah Kian Hoe, Founder and Managing Director of Heng Hiap Industries.
“With integrated traceability and digitisation innovations, we can achieve a greener world and keep waste out of the ground and oceans for good. Capgemini is a believer in digitalisation and sustainability, hence we chose them as our innovation partner for expansion, particularly in the Southeast Asia region.”
