The dead sperm whale found washed up on the beach of Wakatobi National Park in Southeast Sulawesi with 6 kilograms of plastic in its belly has put the global spotlight on the poor way Indonesia handles — or does not handle — its plastic waste.

 Scientists have yet to establish the exact cause of the whale’s death, but the finding itself was shocking. Upon eviscerating the mammal in November, park officials forked out some 115 plastic cups, 25 bags, wood debris, two flip-flops and a bag containing more than 1,000 strings clogging the animal’s digestive system.

The plastic inside the 9.5-meter long whale’s stomach was testament to how poorly Indonesia manages its plastic waste, not only at sea but also on land. A 2016 study led by Jenna Jambeck from the University of Georgia found that 3.2 million tons of mismanaged plastic waste emerged from Indonesia a year, and about 1.29 million tons of it ended up as marine debris. The university’s discovery identified Indonesia as the world’s second-biggest marine polluter, after China, which dumps 8.8 million tons of plastic to the sea annually.

In response to international concern, China — once the world’s biggest plastic importer to feed its waste-recycling industries — has taken a somewhat extreme move by banning imported plastics as part of an antipollution campaign. Its waste-recycling industries now rely on locally sourced materials.

Indonesia, by contrast, has done little to turn things around. Home to 264 million people, Indonesia produces more than 65 million tons of waste annually — 16 percent of which is plastics, up from a share of 11 percent in 2011, the Environment and Forestry Ministry figures show.

Plastic waste has increasingly caused health and environmental concerns. Separate studies by Makassar-based Hasanuddin University and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) discovered microplastic in sea fish and salt.

Last year, LIPI found 10 to 20 microplastic particles per kg of salt samples taken from 13 areas across Indonesia, including the northern Java coasts of Rembang, Kudus, Demak and Pati. Hasanuddin researchers, focusing their studies at Jeneponto in South Sulawesi, found 31 particles in 11 of their 16 salt samples.

In 2015, researchers from Hasanuddin University and California Davis University published their joint studies in science magazine Nature. A key finding was the microplastic in most of the 76 fish ranging from mackerel tuna to anchovy they obtained as samples from Makassar’s largest fish market.

Scientists have yet to determine what harm microplastic can do to humans, but it has proven harmful to certain marine animals, LIPI researchers say.

Data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry show that the volume of plastic waste in 22 major cities of the country increased to 1.2 million tons in 2015 from 471,956 tons in 2011.

Moreover, the roughly 10 million tons of plastic waste generated in the country a year has yet to be managed properly; only 10 percent is recycled.

Up to 30 percent of plastic waste in Indonesia is dumped and eventually finds its way to the ocean. Most of the waste is disposed of in landfills and pollutes the environment.

An Environment and Forestry Ministry document reveals that decomposing waste produces so-called leachate, a liquid consisting of toxic heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium and nickel. The substance easily mixes with ground water that people consume, and the heavy metals may cause health issues like cancer if they accumulate in human bodies over an extended period of time.

In addition, methane — one of the most potent greenhouse gases — is released into the air during the decaying process of plastic. The impact of methane on global warming is 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide.

Too much plastic: A cashier (left) packs vegetables into a customer’s shopping bag in Denpasar, Bali. The resort island is one of the few regions that have adopted plastic waste reduction bylaws.(JP/Zul Trio Anggono)

Inadequate rules

Indonesia’s poor plastic waste management has its roots in the lack of proper regulations. Law No. 18/2008 on waste management needs amending to adequately address the pressing issue.

“[We should have regulations] that provide guidelines for plastic manufacturers as well as users,” says Tiza Mafira, the director of Plastic Bag Diet, a civil organization campaigning for a reduction in the use of plastic.

The Environment and Forestry Ministry’s director general in charge of waste management, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, admits the discrepancies have led to an environmental catastrophe. The ministry has been treating the situation as a pressing issue and promised to expedite the drafting of two government regulations targeting plastic producers and users.

The first regulation is intended as a roadmap for industries or businesses that use a large amount of plastics, such as consumer goods and food companies, to shift to biodegradable, reusable or recyclable materials. The regulation will require industries to phase out environmentally unfriendly plastics in the next 10 years.

“We know it would be impossible for enterprises like Aqua [bottled water] to replace their single-use plastic bottles with degradable materials in a very short period of time,” Vivien says. “Therefore, we give them 10 years.”

The decree will also include plastic take-back schemes for companies. To collect used plastic packaging, each company will be required to provide drop boxes at certain points or cooperate with existing waste banks. The country currently has around 5,244 waste banks in 218 cities and regencies.

A waste bank is a collection point for trash, where residents can drop their sorted nonorganic household waste, like plastic, paper and bottles, in return for cash.

The other ministerial decree the ministry is drafting concerns measures to reduce single-use plastic bags at modern retailers. More than 90,000 of such outlets across the country contribute roughly 9.8 billion pieces disposed of every year.

With the two regulations, the government hopes to reduce marine plastic waste by up to 80 percent by 2025. Studies have found that 80 percent of the plastic debris in the ocean comes from land-based activities.

The two regulations will be derived from the 2008 law on waste management, which entrusts local administrations with drafting regulations of their own. The central government’s role is confined to “guidance”. Thus, the ministerial regulations will serve only as guidelines and are not coercive.

Indonesia has told the world about its commitment to act on plastic waste. At the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference in New York, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said Indonesia would do its best to reduce its plastic waste by 70 percent by 2025, which — if realized — would significantly reduce marine pollution.

To achieve the goal, the coordinating ministry has embarked on a series of programs, from early childhood education on cleanliness, reduction of on-land plastic waste to cooperation with other ASEAN countries.

Local initiatives

While the central government continues to struggle with legislation, some cities — including Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan and Bogor in West Java — have leaped ahead, making their own bylaws and enforcing restrictions on the use of plastic bags.

In 2016, for example, Balikpapan required modern convenience stores like Alfamart, Indomaret and Transmart to stop using single-use plastic bags — with visible results. The wealthy municipality dubbed “oil city” has been able to reduce the use of plastic bags by up to 52 million pieces per month, or around 2.3 percent of the plastic waste it generates.

The Banjarmasin administration envisions widening the impact of its plastic bylaws by imposing the rule on traditional markets this year.

“It was hard at first to change people’s behavior on plastic bags, but we keep on informing them that plastic can badly harm the environment. Now, more and more people stop using it,” says Banjarmasin Environmental Agency head Muhyar.

The Balikpapan administration will also tighten the rule that has been in force since July last year. Soon the regulation will be enforced on all enterprises, big and small. Recalcitrant companies risk having their business license revoked after the third warning.

“The regulation we are amending will affect both traditional markets and retailers,” says the head of the Balikpapan Environmental Agency, Suryanto.

Jakarta, where its 153 traditional markets generate 240 tons of plastic waste a day as the president director of Jakarta-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya, Arief Nasrudin, says, is amending a gubernatorial decree that will tighten its rules on waste management after unsuccessful attempts to restrict the use of plastic bags at major shops. The new legislation will phase out single-use plastic bags and straws.

Just like other major cities in the country, Jakarta is confronted with a lot more pollutants other than plastic, such as oil and toxic waste from the countless industrial plants in its satellite cities.

Local initiatives have received support from the central government in the form of incentive funds. Cities and regencies that manage to reduce plastic waste are entitled to Rp 11 billion (US$758,646) to develop their waste management programs.

Tiza, an activist of the Plastic Bag Diet movement, proposes that tough sanctions be imposed on anyone and corporations flouting rules; otherwise the legislation would be ineffective.

Stiff punishment for offenders has not yet been prescribed in any regulations on waste management in the country.