It is no surprise that Indonesia is amongst the world’s highest contributors to plastic pollution, considering that it dumps more than 8 million metric tons of plastic into the ocean each year. Scientists even predict that we will have more plastic weight in the ocean than fish by the year 2050.
As the production of Indonesian plastic waste is still unstable in our cities, waterways and coastlines, its agglomeration appears to be harming our food systems and the health of our people. Even our booming fishing industry, which is the second largest in the world, is under threat of rising sea levels from marine plastic debris. If we take action now to limit and ban single use plastic by 2025, the amount of plastic waste leaking into our oceans and harming our beautiful marine life would drastically increase. Fortunately enough, however, this concerning and frightening view of our future has finally sparked discussions stating that action will be implemented to reduce this plastic crisis.
At the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Indonesia revealed its plan to tackle this crisis by cutting marine plastic debris by 70% within the next five years. If this goes according to plan, we might even have a plastic free country by 2040. By pursuing this plan, plastic will no longer end up in our oceans, waterways, and landfills—instead, its life cycle will be disposed of in a much more environmentally friendly way.
There are five parts to achieving this plan. To successfully reach the 70% reduction rate by 2025, we must first find substitutes to replace single use plastic. Industry leaders in Indonesia are recommended to transform their supply chains by replacing or avoiding the use of plastic materials. Examples include replacing single use packaging with reusable packaging, applying refill shops or stations, and empowering customers to move away from single use plastic.
Secondly, it is planned that plastic packaging will be redesigned to become recyclable and reusable. Aggressive investment in our waste collection infrastructure will also need to be made, as only 39% of the total plastic waste in Indonesia is collected. Fourth, doubling our current recycling capacity is also recommended, as only 10% of plastic generated were recycled in 2017. Lastly, building and expanding safe, disposable facilities are also underway, as these facilities will allow us to safely dispose of non-recyclable plastic materials and remove plastic waste in remote areas without the use of recycling facilities.
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