Jakarta Environmental Agency on Plastic Ban: Food Wrap is Allowed

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta governor's regulation on the plastic ban will not prohibit the use of plastic wrap for food.

“We still allow it (the use of plastic) for food, but not in the form of shopping bags,” said the Head of Waste Management Section of Jakarta Environmental Agency Rahmawati to Tempo, Thursday, January 3.

Rahmawati said that the use of plastic for food that is allowed is plastic wrap. It is commonly used at a convenience store or shopping center to wrap fruit or other foods.

“What we regulate is more to shopping bags, which are usually given at the cash register,” she said.

Read: Plastic Ban Policy Kicks Off in Cities

The Jakarta provincial administration planned to reduce the amount of plastic waste by limiting the use of plastic bags in markets, shops, and shopping centers. The governor’s regulation was handed over to Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to be signed.

Rahmawati said that sanction for violators will be effective six months after the governor's regulation on the plastic ban was signed. 

According to data shown by Rahmawati, the average waste in Jakarta weighs 2.5 million tons per year. The 357,000 tons of them are plastic wastes. Especially for plastic bags, Jakarta residents contribute 1,900 to 2,400 tons per year. That amount is equivalent to 240-300 million plastic bags.

Governor Anies Baswedan said the governor's regulation on the plastic ban still needed a lot of corrections since it is not a simple matter. He said that it should also regulate the substitute of plastic for the community.

“Housewives will find it difficult if we do not start preparing for the substitutes,” Anies said in Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta, Thursday, January 3.

M YUSUF MANURUNG