Sperm Whale Ingested Plastic Waste; Serious Solution Required
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Jumat, 14 Desember 2018 11:54 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The finding of 5.9-kilogram plastic waste in the belly of a dead sperm whale which was stranded in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi emphasized the fact that plastic waste continuously harmed the environment.
“The finding of plastic waste inside a sperm whale adds to the long list evident of waste found in a wrong place. All sectors must seriously respond to this problem and take part to deal with it,” said Greenpeace Indonesia urban campaigner Muharram Atha Rasyadi in a written statement on Friday, November 23.
A dead sperm whale was found by staffers of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Monday, November 19, at 08:00 local time before they report it to the management of Wakatobi National Park Area I Wangi-Wangi.
Read: Dangers of Plastic Waste Evident in Dead Sperm Whale`s Belly
Initiatives that were taken by private parties such as companies of fast moving consumer goods, Atha said, must be more than do recycling. The government is required to issue a regulation which focuses on plastic waste reduction and to encourage the quality of national waste management system.
“Crisis on plastic waste does not only occur in the landfills, the sea and animal life in the ocean is also threatened,” Atha added. “The main solution to reduce the invasion of plastic waste in the environment including in the ocean is significantly reduce the production and the use of disposable plastic.”
It is estimated 94 percent of plastic waste that enters the ocean ends up on the seafloor, thus it becomes a real threat for animal lives in the sea. Besides, only 9 percent of plastic is recycled globally.
Atha further appealed to the public to gain awareness on the issue and real threats. If people did not take immediate acts, then more animal lives would be threatened by the presence of plastic waste.
MOH KHORY ALFARIZI