Reducing Plastic Waste
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Sorting and managing waste through waste banks contributes greatly to reducing the volume of waste, especially plastic waste.
According to the latest data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry, the plastic waste comprised 15 percent of all waste in 2018, a decline of 1 percent from 2017.
Although the composition of plastic waste declined "only" 1 percent, the actual volume is large, amounting to 65.79 million tons in 2018. The volume of plastic waste was reduced because of several waste management programs and activities. The establishment of 7,488 waste banks has greatly contributed to reducing the volume of waste.
The ministry’s waste management director, Novrizal Tahar, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that community waste banks collected household plastics with economic value that could be recycled. This prevented plastic from being dumped in the environment or at final trash disposal sites (TPAs).
The ministry’s data shows that only 63 percent of total waste was disposed in landfills and only 10 percent was recycled. The rest of the waste was thrown out into the open environment, including the sea. Data at the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister shows that 38 million tons of waste was produced annually, including about 1.29 million tons of plastic waste that was dumped into the ocean.
Reducing plastic waste must involve all levels of society, so the habit of reducing the use of plastics must be promoted. During a work visit to Ambon on Wednesday, First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo and ministers’ wives grouped under the Working Cabinet Solidarity Organization (OASE) encouraged women in the city of Ambon to continue their fight against plastic waste.
Iriana and the other women collected waste on Gatik Beach, along with Retty Assegaf, the wife of the Maluku governor. They collected all kinds of garbage, including rags, plastic bags, food and beverage packaging, cables and ropes that were dumped into the sea.
Iriana said that the Clean Indonesia Movement would continue, and not just in one-day activities. In addition to cleanup programs, many organizations and levels of society were campaigning against waste. The decline in waste was good news, coming ahead of National Waste Management Day that falls on Feb. 21.
National Waste Management Day was declared in 2005 following the landslide disaster at the Leuwigajah landfill that killed 143 people in Cimahi, West Java. The government has continued to encourage local administrations and the people, through waste banks, to manage and reduce waste, especially plastic waste.
Although their contribution remains small, waste banks play a key role in reducing the volume of waste, especially plastic waste. For example, Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan has 442 waste banks that are coordinated under a central waste bank.
Banjarmasin produces 600 tons of waste per day, of which only 0.3 percent is reduced through the activities of waste banks. "The role of waste banks must be expanded," said Atim Susanto, the Banjarmasin waste bank coordinator. Each waste bank was expected to manage up to 100 kilograms of waste per day.
Only a few local administrations have initiated a policy to limit the use of disposable plastic bags at retail outlets. Only 14 out of the 509 regencies and municipalities in 34 provinces across the country have implemented the policy. "Locally, there has been a significant reduction. But nationally, this is still insignificant," said Novrizal.
He said 2.76 percent of waste was reduced in 2018, up from 2.12 percent in 2017, while 68.13 percent of all waste was processed. The waste reduction rate is still far from the target set in Presidential Regulation No. 97/2017 on the National Policy and Strategy (Jakstranas) for Household Waste Management.
Banjarmasin is one of the few cities that limits the use of plastic bags. Nearly three years after it implemented its "plastic diet" policy at modern retailers, the Banjarmasin administration recently launched another movement for customers to bring their own beverage containers (tumblers) and traditional bags made from purun leaves when shopping at traditional markets. Bringing beverage containers could reduce about 1.2 tons of plastic waste per day.
The Jayapura municipal government has also limited the use of plastic bags, encouraging its residents to use traditional noken bags when shopping. (ICH/REN/KOR/JUM/NCA/SEM/DIA/COK/FLO/PRA/RUL/INA)