Once he learned of the dangers of plastic waste, I Gede Ari Astina persistently campaigned to reduce the use of plastic bags.

Popularly known by his moniker JRX, the drummer of punk rock band Superman Is Dead, has been distributing cloth bags during the band's concerts while exposing the dangers of plastic waste since 2004.

'We continue giving out cloth bags while educating our fans until now. It's very irrational to continue using plastic bags after knowing the devastating effects on nature and human health,' JRX told The Jakarta Post.

The tattooed musician said it would be easy to stop using plastic bags after understanding the negative effects.

'Awareness is crucial to changing habits. The greater challenge is to campaign for others to do the same,' said the Bali-based musician. 'I have a hard time, for example, convincing retail employees that I don't need the plastic bags, they can even be quite pushy about it.'

Author Dewi 'Dee' Lestari said the easiest and most effective method for improving the environment started with self-action.

'Start doing it yourself, beginning in your own home,' Dee said.

Dee, who is also a singer and songwriter, said she had avoided using plastic bags since 2006.

'I bring cloth bags for shopping and I carry my own containers when I order takeout from restaurants,' she said.

For this good cause, she said the hardest part was discipline.

'We must explain to employees at the cash register that we don't need plastic bags. We have to do this each time we shop,' said the mother of two.

Dee agreed with a campaign to pressure retailers to charge for plastic bags.

'I think it's a good move to make people aware that plastic waste is very costly to the environment,' she said.

Verena Puspawardani, campaign coordinator for the climate and energy program at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Indonesia, said that the Indonesian government had not issued any regulations to curb the use of plastic bags.

'A number of regional administrations have called for a reduction of plastic bag use, but these incentives do not have any legal penalties,' she said.

Last year, the Diet Kantong Plastik (plastic bag diet) movement encouraged the conception of a regional regulation, No. 17/2012, which stipulates a curb in plastic bag usage in the West Java capital of Bandung, but the regulation has not been put into effect.

The movement was started by green campaign group Greeneration Indonesia in 2010.

Last month, Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama declared a 'no plastic month' to encourage people to reduce their use of plastics as the movement gained support.

According to Muhammad Bijaksana Junerosano, founder of Greeneration, it takes 1,000 years for a single shred of plastic to decompose, while poisoning the soil.

People across the archipelago consume a total of 4,000 tons of plastic each day ' equal to the weight of 16 Boeing 747 airplanes. Each year, plastic consumption is estimated at 100 billion bags, worth a total of Rp 11 trillion (US$1.1 billion).

In Jakarta alone, out of an average 8,000 tons of garbage produced every day, 1,060 tons is plastic waste. Of the 1,060 tons, some 500 tons come from plastic bags.

Around 7 percent of plastic waste in the country is burned, releasing toxic fumes into the air.

'Plastic is an important and very useful invention,' Junerosano said, 'but excessive use is dangerous.'

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