UNAIR NEWS – One of the main challenges in waste management is the large amount of plastic packaging waste. Multilayer plastic packaging that has no economic value has been one of the factors making this type of waste nearly impossible to collect. Students of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) addressed this issuewith Netra, a plastic waste solution in the form of a reuse jar that can be used up to 50 times.
This environmental initiative led Ridhwan Fadly Saputra (FST 2022), Farrelindra Nadhif Islami (FTMM 2024), and Muhammad Dafi Aritama (FST 2024) to secure fourth place of a competition on February 16, 2026. They competed against more than 3,600 teams in the international competition GreenGeneration: Sustainable Case Competition, organized by Nestlé Indonesia.
“The reuse jar innovation, Netra, comes with two additional components: a refill machine system in collaboration with outlet partners and a QR code on each jar to monitor usage from upstream to downstream,” Saputra said on February 17, 2026.
Monitoring plastic waste quantity
Monitoring the increasing quantity of plastic waste each year remained a major challenge. Controlling and monitoring this type of waste proved difficult. The transition toward sustainable packaging required an integrated ecosystem approach, from producers to consumers.
“The main challenge is not only material innovation, but also how to build a system architecture that connects producers, consumers, and waste managers. GreenGeneration encourages us to think more strategically in viewing solutions from upstream to downstream,” added Saputra.
As the only UNAIR representative team that advanced to the top 20 and competed in the final round, Saputra admitted that the team faced challenges in structuring their framework of thinking and formulating an integrated innovation within a limited timeframe during the competition.
“To overcome this, we divided tasks and responsibilities based on each member’s expertise across disciplines. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and focus on our respective strengths, we were able to formulate an idea that addressed the problem despite the time constraints,” Saputra said.
Through perseverance and dedication, Saputra and the team secured the winning title. Reflecting on the experience, he recommended interdisciplinary collaboration in participating in real case problem competitions. “For those who want to solve real case problems, especially in the industrial sector, interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration help generate solutions that are not only innovative, but also practical,” he concluded.
Author: Dinnaya Mahashofia
Editor: Yulia Rohmawati
