Environmentalists campaign against plastic bags

(Antara/Eric Ireng)

As many as 150 volunteers in Aceh are campaigning for Indonesians to reduce their plastic bag usage to cut back on environmental waste.

Some of the actions included distributing stickers and trading 10 plastic bags for a single grocery bag.

"This campaign is conducted in anticipation of World Environment Day," campaign coordinator Faisal Ilyas said on Monday, as quoted by Antara News agency.

World Environment Day is observed on June 5.

This awareness-raising campaign, which Faisal said would continue until June 10, was needed because excessive plastic consumption could lead to piles of plastic waste, because plastic did not easily degrade.

"Plastic bag-related garbage contaminates the ground, the water, the oceans and the air around us. The most effective way to reduce the effects of plastic bags is to reduce the use of them," Faisal said. (png/iwa)