Large Palm Waste Potential, Academics Encourage Hydrocarbonization and Revision of Regulations

JAKARTA - Palm oil waste is considered to have great economic potential if processed with the right technology. In addition to increasing the added value of the palm oil industry, waste utilization can also support the development of renewable energy and the concept of a circular economy.

Professor of the Faculty of Forestry, IPB University, Yanto Santosa, said that the availability of palm oil waste in Indonesia is so abundant that it has the potential to be processed into various high-value-added products that are environmentally friendly.

"Palm oil waste has great potential to be used to produce products that have economic added value," said Yanto in Jakarta, Sunday, March 22.

According to him, the optimization of the utilization of palm waste can provide various benefits, ranging from increasing the added value of the industry, creating new business opportunities, to supporting the circular economy concept.

He assessed that palm oil is a national strategic commodity that can be categorized as a zero waste commodity because almost all parts of the plant can be processed into value-added products.

However, he reminded that the management of palm waste needs to be supported by government policies, including through research collaboration and technological innovation. In this case, Yanto encouraged the role of the Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) to work with research institutions to develop palm waste processing technology.

"The collaboration between BPDP and research institutions will provide various benefits in the development of palm waste processing innovations," he said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Palm Oil Agribusiness Strategic Policy Institute (PASPI), Tungkot Sipayung, assessed that the term waste in the palm oil industry was actually not appropriate because most of them were byproducts that still had economic value.

According to him, the main products of the palm oil industry are crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (CPKO), while various other products are follow-up products that can be utilized in various industrial sectors.

However, until now, some of these by-products are still categorized as waste in environmental regulations, and some even fall into the category of hazardous and toxic materials (B3) waste.

"In fact, everything comes from organic materials. This classification is actually an obstacle in commercialization because it requires special permits and industrial treatment," he said.

Tungkot assessed that the revision of the regulation would open up opportunities for the wider development of the palm oil by-product utilization industry and contribute to increasing foreign exchange and job creation.

In addition, the utilization of by-products also has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the palm oil industry so that it can strengthen Indonesia's position as a low-emission renewable energy commodity.