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‘Send all the plastic to us ’: Recyclers anxious about plastic-bag ban
Indonesia's plastic industry recycles about 1.6 million tons of scrap plastic scraps every year and some of this is imported.
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According to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), there will be more Indonesian plastic waste in the oceans than fish by 2050 if no strong action is taken. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
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ecyclers of plastic in Greater Jakarta claim that they can process all used plastic, including that in rivers and oceans, provided there is a system for collecting and sending all the plastic waste to them.
The recyclers have expressed concern about the Jakarta administration’s plan to impose a ban on single-use plastic bags because they fear that their business will be affected by the move.
Indonesian Plastic Recyclers (IPR) chairman Ahmad Nuzuluddin said the move was too drastic and did not address the core problem. The problem with plastic waste, he said, was plastic littering.
“The plastic waste that ends up polluting the rivers is because of poor management. We are ready to take care of it all if it is collected and distributed to us to be recycled,” he said.
In 2015, the journal Science published a paper by a team of scientists led by Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia, which found Indonesia to be the second worst plastic-waste polluter in the oceans after China. Indonesia’s mismanaged plastic waste is estimated to amount to 3.22 million tons per year or 10 percent of the entire plastic waste. Of this, between 480,000 and 1.29 million tons enter the oceans.
According to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), there will be more Indonesian plastic waste in the oceans than fish by 2050 if no strong action is taken.
