T

he government is designing measures to reduce waste left over following major public events by issuing standard operating procedures (SOPs) on waste management for regional governments.

'€œI am currently building the concept [of zero-waste events]. The principle is for event organizers to provide better facilities that can accommodate large crowds. Furthermore, visitors have to be educated on the importance of waste management,'€ Environment and Forestry Ministry waste management director Sudirman said on Thursday.

After ensuring that people dispose of their garbage in designated places, the government will then sort the waste into different categories, he said.

'€œGarbage that has value will go to waste banks. Organic garbage will be turned into fertilizer. All of this has to be done in cooperation with local governments. If the region has a high commitment [to reducing waste], then these zero-waste events will succeed,'€ said Sudirman.

The government tested the concept of zero-waste events at the Java Jazz festival held earlier this year in JIEXPO Kemayoran, Jakarta, under the banner of Less Waste More Jazz, he said.

The government will test the concept again during the annual environmental fair held at JCC Senayan, Jakarta, to be held in June.

'€œI want [these events to become examples of future events],'€ Sudirman said, while admitting that what worked at the Java Jazz festival might not work in other events.

He added that the government would study the results after testing the concept as they would provide information on the behavior of people attending the events, such as the Java Jazz Festival.

Waste research team coordinator for Less Waste More Jazz, Suci Fitriana, shared Sudirman'€™s opinion by saying that the government could measure the level of awareness of the Java Jazz audience in regard to waste through the research.

The zero-waste event concept is part of the government'€™s plan to free Indonesia from waste by 2020 as the country, the world'€™s second-biggest contributor to plastic waste in the oceans, faces a potential emergency with regard to waste.

As of 2015, an average person in Indonesia produced 0.7 kilogram of waste per day. With 250 million people, a staggering 175,000 tons of waste is produced each day, amounting to 64 million tons per year, according to data from the ministry. This waste is mostly dumped into landfills.

Therefore, Indonesia'€™s decaying trash disposal sites are struggling to cope with tens of millions of tons of waste every year.

The government recently introduced a national policy requiring stores to charge for plastic shopping bags.

'€œThat'€™s the first step. It will be followed by other measures such as sorting out waste. So there might be a big campaign to educate people on sorting out their own waste,'€ Environment and Forestry Ministry'€™s spokesman, Novrizal Tahar, said.