The elongated process to socialize policy on eco-friendly plastic bag on the shopping mall, department store and wet market has got yield. The Government of Jakarta has started to impose its policy on the ban of single use plastic bag on July 1 2020. The ban of single use plastic bag and directive of eco-friendly use bag is stipulated by the Jakarta Governor Regulation No. 142/2019. With the policy, Jakarta becomes the second capital city in Southeast Asia following Bangkok (Thailand) imposing regulation to use eco-friendly plastic bag.
Since March 2020, with the commencement of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), the daily waste volume in Jakarta reached 9,300 tons at average, as released by idntimes.com. As from mid-March, the volume decreased into 6,300 tons a day on early June 2020. However, the plummet of waste volume is not aligned with the amount of plastic waste with the mounting composition during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is due to the shifting public trend to online shopping from traditional shopping so that it produces higher plastic waste than the other garbage.
The condition has drawn serious concerns among the green community or organization to perform a plastic-free campaign, particularly the single use plastic. They utilize virtual discussion on June 30, 2020. There were 54 organizations and communities participating in an online media and community meeting. Kaka of Slank, EcoNusa Foundation, Divers Clean Action, Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik, Greenpeace, Pandu Laut Nusantara, Pulau Plastik, Indorelawan.org, and WALHI Jakarta were among the notable resource persons.
On the event, the resource persons discussed their concerns on plastic waste, particularly the single use one and lifestyle with minimum awareness of single use plastic. They supported Jakarta Government to implement the Governor Regulation No. 142/2019 through a movement so-called Plastic Free Parade. The movement was initiated by green communities and organizations by rebuffing the single use plastic on their campaign. The movement has been commenced since 2019 and deemed the largest parade to turn down single use plastic in Indonesia.
More than 1,500 green communities took parts in the Plastic Free Parade movement. The campaign used a plastic monster as tool to lure public attention on the threats of single use plastic. The campaign called the Government of Jakarta to deliberate the policy on reduction of the single use plastic.
To date, their appeal is responded. The Government of Jakarta deliberated and imposed the regulation on the use of eco-friendly bag. The regulation here has made up the list of major cities in Indonesia with the similar regulations on single use plastic ban. Those cities that have enacted such regulation is Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, Banjarbaru, Bogor, Padang, Jambi, Denpasar, Bukittinggi, Samarinda, Jayapura, Bontang, Badung and Jakarta.
The enactment of Jakarta Governor Regulation on the use of eco-friendly bag has turned to be challenge and call to other provinces in Indonesia that have not yet issued such policy on plastic waste. The community should have awareness that plastic waste has been considered global polluter that threat health and life conservation.
Editor: Leo Wahyudi
