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Bandung becomes latest administration to launch plastic diet policy
Bandung has become the latest administration to introduce a regulation to control plastic consumption, targeting to significantly reduce plastic use in the next five years.
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Bandung has become the latest administration to introduce a regulation to control plastic consumption, targeting to significantly reduce plastic use in the next five years. (Shutterstock/betaktas)
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andung has become the latest administration to introduce a regulation to control plastic consumption, targeting to significantly reduce plastic use in the next five years as the West Java provincial administration plans to build an incinerator to cope with the waste management issue.
Bandung Mayor Oded M. Danial recently signed Mayoral Regulation No. 37/2019 on reducing plastic consumption, which also affects business players.
For example, Article 7 states that individuals who engage in business activities are no longer allowed to provide plastic bags to their customers for free. Plastic providers are also required to gradually decrease the amount of non-biodegradable plastic bags they produce over the next five years.
“We hope retailers can lead the movement by implementing this policy because they are doing better financially compared to small vendors. The point is everyone should realize the importance of this regulation,” Oded said last week.
During the first year, businesses should cut at least 10 percent of plastic bags provided for free. In the fifth year, businesses are required to cut up to 100 percent of their total plastic bags provided for free.
Industrial engineering lecturer Mohamad Satori of the Bandung Islamic University said at least 2.5 million plastic bags ended up as waste in the city daily. This calculation is based on research into plastic bag usage in the city, which was later taken into account during the drafting of the regulation.
“When we surveyed the retail customers, 75 percent of our respondents said they reused plastic bags as waste bin liners. These plastic bags make up 12 percent of total waste in Bandung,” Satori told The Jakarta Post.
