Minister Airlangga: Plastic is Not Waste
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6 February 2019 19:08 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto announced that Indonesian plastic and rubber industry saw a positive growth by 12.34 percent during the third quarter of 2018.
“The figure is higher than the national economic growth,” said Airlangga during an event of Indonesia Economic and Investment Outlook 2019 with the European Union at the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in South Jakarta, Wednesday, February 6.
When asked about the irony of the country’s management in dealing with plastic waste as a global issue, the minister noted that plastic was not waste and that similar to other industries.
Airlangga opined that plastic had been a supporting component for many industries, such as bumper car up to fiber for clothes.
“Plastic is not waste, but raw material,” he said, stressing that the problem is on its waste management, and so reducing plastic waste does not mean shutting down the plastic industry but improve its control.
One of the ways, he added, is by establishing a plastic recycling unit as he did for the aluminum industry. As a result, 75 percent of the world’s existing aluminum is recycled products. “So, we have to see [plastic waste issue] from a different perspective,” Airlangga concluded.
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