Bogor Gears Up to Impose Surcharges on Plastic Bag Usage

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The City of Bogor's Environment's Agency (BPLH) has issued a public announcement relating to the administration's plan to impose a surcharge on the use of plastic - a part of its' effort to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable plastic in its' landfills.

"We have prepared the announcement, and we will soon distribute the announcement to all retailers that operate within the city of Bogor," said the Head of Bogor's BPLH, Lilis Sukartini to Antara in Bogor on Tuesday, January 26, 2016.

Lilis said that the announcement contains Bogor City's administration plan to impose restrictions on the use of plastic bags, and that a plastic bag surcharge scheme will be tried out sometime in February 2016.

"We have yet to decide the price of the surcharge, and studies on the matter is still ongoing," said Lilis. "That said, we believe that the announcement is a step towards the right direction, as an early announcement will allow retailers to prepare before the actual scheme takes place."

It is known that Bogor - along with 21 other cities across Indonesia - is planning to impose surcharges on plastic bags in order to help decrease the impact it has on the environment, considering its' non-biodegradability.

Other cities that are planning to impose similar schemes include Jakarta, Bandung, Bekasi, Depok, Bogor, Tangerang, Solo, Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Palembang, Medan, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Makassar, and Ambon. Five other cities - Jayapura, Pekanbaru, Banda Aceh, Kendari, and Jogjakarta - have also sounded their commitment to impose restrictions on the use of plastic bags.

Lilis explained that the policy will gradually be applied throughout all forms of retail outlets - including large retailers, traditional market vendors, as well as at the household level. BPLH will be in charge of monitoring the policy across retailers, while market administrator PD Pasar Pakuan Jaya will be responsible for market retailers. Meanwhile, Bogor's Parks and Sanitation Agency will be tasked to enforce the scheme in the household level.

"The bottom line is, Bogor is committed to reduce the usage of plastic - as evident through our intensive coordination with other stakeholders, including government institutions," said Lilis. "In the future, we do not want to see households use plastic bags to sort out their trash - as it also contributes to pollution across our landfills."

Under the scheme, consumers will be charged to for each and every plastic bag used in their purchases. "So plastic bags will no longer be free - as such, we advise those who wants to avoid the additional cost to invest in reusable shopping bags," Lilis concluded.

ANTARANEWS