Environmental Groups Urges for Plastic-free Ahead of Environment Day March
Translator
Editor
28 July 2023 13:48 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several environmental groups prepare for the upcoming Plastic-free March 2023 on Sunday, July 30, 2023. The groups will call for three demands during their long march from Bendungan Hilir MRT Station to HI Roundabout for approximately 3.5 kilometers. After the long march, the group will do a photo session and oration.
Held annually since 2019, the collective campaign started as a commemoration of the #PlasticFreeJuly movement. The objective of this campaign is to push for the prohibition of single-use plastic, waste management in Final Processing Sites, and the producer's responsibility for waste management. The target for this campaign is the decline amounting to 30%of plastic waste and 70% of waste management in Indonesia to comply with Presidential Regulation No. 97 of 2017.
After being held online in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the campaign this year foster many regional collaborators that extends the commemoration until February 2024. The extension is intended to give more time for the collaborators to hold their own plastic-free themed events. Previously, the groups held a town hall on July 15 and workshop signage on July 22.
Three Plastic-Free Demands
The three plastic-free demands brought by the environmental groups are:
1. Urge the government to prohibit single-use plastic;
2. Urge the government to improve the waste management system; and
3. Urge producers and business owners to be responsible for post-consumption waste.
The first demand related to the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 75 of 2019 on Roadmap for Reducing Waste by Producers. In the 2020-2029 roadmap provided in the regulation, the prohibition of plastic bags, styrofoam, plastic straw, sachet packaging, and plastic cutlery will be implemented on January 1, 2023. The environmental groups believed that the time limit is too far since the volume of plastic waste will inevitably increase. "Therefore, we demand the government to be stricter with their dissemination. There are only a few people who know about the prohibition," said the Executive Director of Indonesia Plastic Bag Diet Movement (GIDKP) Tiza Mafira, one of the speakers in the discussion. Tiza believed that the public needs to be prepared to avoid confusion concerning the prohibition of some plastic usage.
Additionally, Abdul Ghofar from Walhi believed that to realize a plastic-free future, good waste management is needed. "We agree that waste pollution is closely related to waste management," said Ghofar. "The paradigm should be oriented to waste reduction if we want to promote the improvement of waste management."
Targeting the root cause, producers and business owners are also urged to be responsible for their waste management. Muhammad Atha Rasyadi from Greenpeace Indonesia mentioned that waste is a multisectoral issue, meaning it should be handled from various sectors. This caused the campaign for individuals to be responsible for their own consumption, such as the calls for less usage of plastic straws. "On the other hand, we can never tackle the problem if the only solution comes from individuals," said Atha. "Producers and industrial sector is the key to solving the plastic waste issue."
NABIILA AZZAHRA
Editor's Choice: Indonesia Manages to Reduce Plastic Waste Flowing to Sea by 27%, Luhut Claims
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
