Blog Posts: plastic pollution

The World Economic Forum (WEF) report stated that around 4.8 million tons of plastic waste are not managed properly every year. Additionally, 620 thousand tons of them go into the sea and putting its ecosystem in danger. Meanwhile, marine health is very important for the economy and welfare of the people in an archipelagic country like Indonesia. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in the amount of waste that could worsen this situation. As a result, the government's efforts to target a 70 percent reduction in plastic waste in the oceans by 2025 and achieve zero marine plastic waste in 2040 through the realization of a circular economy are threatened.

A study in 2015 by Jenna Jambeck, an oceanographer from the United States (US), revealed six out of 11 Southeast Asian countries are in the top 20 countries that mismanage their plastic waste. Indonesia is in second place, followed by the Philippines (third), Vietnam (fourth), and Thailand (sixth), Malaysia (eighth), and Myanmar (17th). ASEAN countries need to manage not only their own plastic waste, but also waste from other sources, such as countries or oceans. Therefore, collaborative efforts from ASEAN countries to fight the global marine plastic waste problem are urgently needed.

The ban on single-use plastics is one of the most frequently used policy instruments in the world to limit its use. Several cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta, ban the use of single-use plastic bags. What should Indonesia do to achieve its single-use waste reduction target by January 1, 2030?

Indonesia generates around 6.8 million tonnes of plastic waste per year, but much of it is not disposed of properly. But by 2040 it hopes to achieve zero plastic pollution through shifting to a circular economy. The informal waste sector gathers up around 1 million tonnes of plastic waste, most of which is recycled, but their contribution needs greater recognition. A collaboration between the Indonesia National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP), Ocean Plastic Prevention Accelerator (OPPA) and UpLink hopes to address that and other issues around supply chains and technology.

Collaboration and understanding among government, civil society organization, and community is required to apply and share integrated data, new business models, established public policies, and investment in technology and infrastructure to create a systemic solution to plastic pollution in the ocean. There are far too many plastic waste, we have no time to waste.