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Jakarta Post

Vendors anxious over upcoming plastic ban

Despite a recently issued regulation banning single-use plastic bags, vendors in several markets in Jakarta are still left with lingering questions about their business and services to customers as they claim alternatives have yet to be provided by the city administration

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Tue, February 25, 2020

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Vendors anxious over upcoming plastic ban

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espite a recently issued regulation banning single-use plastic bags, vendors in several markets in Jakarta are still left with lingering questions about their business and services to customers as they claim alternatives have yet to be provided by the city administration.

Predi, 40, a plastic vendor at Cipete Market in South Jakarta, tends a kiosk selling various plastic products such as plastic cups, kresek (single-use plastic bags) and containers. He said that he was aware of the regulation and was worried about how it would impact his small business.

“I know about the rule since the head of the market has informed all vendors here. But what should I do with all of the plastics in my kiosk?” Predi said on a recent Tuesday.

He said he was quite wary the new regulation might cause his small business to shut down. He said plastic bag distributors kept sending products to his kiosk, which made him wonder why there had been no effort to stop the distribution of plastic bags to small merchants like himself.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 142/2019 on eco-friendly bag use on Dec. 27, 2019. The regulation, which will take effect on July 1, imposes a ban on single-use plastic bags in modern department stores and supermarkets. The regulation will also be applied to all traditional markets under the management of city-owned market operator PD Pasar Jaya, which includes Cipete Market.

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“The government keeps issuing regulations but what are the alternatives? It would be less profitable for me to use paper bags or leaves, as they’re more expensive [than plastic bags].”

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The regulation aims to address plastic waste issues plaguing the capital city and to cut back on the reliance on single-use plastic bags. Although it was deemed vital for the city’s environment, the issuance of the regulation had been pushed back several times as the city argued that it needed more time to provide alternative packaging for vendors and customers.

Still, the regulation has been met with mixed reviews, including from vendors who claim to be confused about the alternative packing for customers.

Another vendor in the market, Nani, 42, not her real name, was busy filling up a small plastic bag with candlenuts. The woman said the small kiosk belonged to her sister and that she had worked as a spice vendor at the market since she was young.

“The government keeps issuing regulations but what are the alternatives? It would be less profitable for me to use paper bags or leaves, as they’re more expensive [than plastic bags],” she said.

The price of two large banana leaves is Rp 5,000 (37 US cents) to Rp 10,000. The leaves can pieces be cut into approximately eight to 16 smaller pieces depending on the width of the leaves.

Meanwhile, a pack of 100 to 200 pieces of 17 centimeter single-use plastic bags is priced at Rp 13,000 to Rp 16,000.

Meanwhile, a pack of 250 paper food wrappers is priced at Rp 27,000 to Rp 30,000. Considering the quantity and durability, plastic bags are cheaper than banana leaves and paper food wrappers.

“Plastic bags are very cheap, yes indeed. But the harmful effects they have on mother earth are major,” the president director of PD Pasar Jaya, Arief Nasrudin, told The Jakarta Post, adding that the company was ready to follow the regulation and had started promoting it to all markets before the full implementation.

Out of the more than 7,000 tons of waste Jakarta produces every day, traditional markets contribute 600 tons of plastic waste. Therefore, the ban was expected to have a significant impact on wastes issues, he added.

He brushed off concerns over the lack of alternatives to plastic bags.

“Like how our parents used to take their own baskets to the market. People will also start to bring their own reusable bags,” Arief said.

He also added that the city administration had been preparing environmentally friendly and biodegradable bags. Arief explained that the bags would be sold for less than Rp 10,000 to Rp 25,000 per piece to consumers. However, he refused to give details about when the administration would make the alternative bags accessible to the public.

According to a 2018 World Bank report, an estimated 400,000 tons of plastic waste fills waterways each year as land can no longer contain the plastic waste.

Bans on single-use plastic bags have also been imposed in Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Denpasar in Bali, Bogor in West Java, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Semarang in Central Java and Bekasi in West Java.

As small merchants remain anxious about the new regulation, some consumers like 28-year-old Lisa say they are not ready for the ban.

“The ban is actually good for reducing plastic waste. But I think I still need plastic bags. How am I supposed to carry fish without plastic bags?” she told the Post. (trn)

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