The pandemic certainly poses a serious challenge to the war on plastic pollution Jakarta and many other regions in the country have been waging. The longer the coronavirus outbreak lasts the more vulnerable will be Indonesia’s ambitious target to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 percent by 2025.

A joint study by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) found a 5 percent rise in the quantity of waste littering Jakarta Bay through the Marunda and Cilincing rivers from March to April last year, but with a mass declining by 23-28 percent. The research further identified seven types of waste and found plastic accounted for 45-57 percent of the garbage.

No further study has been conducted to update the state of the pollution, but for sure the problem of plastic waste remains unaddressed. Jakarta Environment Agency data reveal that the city produces 7,000 tons of waste per day, with plastic contributing 7 tons.

Although this looks small in percentage terms, for the agency the figure indicates that the single-use plastic ban has not been effective in reducing plastic waste. Introduced in July 2020, the policy prohibits single-use plastic bags in traditional markets, modern supermarkets and minimarkets. The ban, however, does not apply to online businesses, which are thriving during the pandemic.

The LIPI study discovered a significant rise in online shopping activities from one to five times a month to one to 10 times during the pandemic, when social restrictions applied. Understandably the use of plastic wrapping is on the rise.

Jakarta Environment Agency spokesman Yogi Ikhwan said the city administration was open to revision of the policy so as to require online businesses to use recycled plastic. In fact more businesses are already aware of the potential plastic pandemic.

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