The World Economic Forum estimates about 8 million metric tons of plastic waste goes into the ocean each year. According to 2016 research by Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia, Indonesia is the second largest plastic waste producer in the world, after China. Indonesia produces about 3.2 million metric of plastic waste every year, and 40 percent ends up as marine debris. 

The Indonesian government targets to reduce 70 percent of marine debris by 2025, set through the National Plan of Action to Combat Marine Debris in Presidential Decree No. 83 signed by President Joko Widodo last year. 

In order to better understand the government’s strategy to achieve this goal, AmCham Indonesia met with the Deputy Minister at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs (CMMA), Dr Ir Safri Burhanuddin, DEA, who heads the Deputy IV department. 

AmCham Indonesia: Could you give us some background on your role and functions in the CMMA in handling the plastic waste issue?

Dr Ir Safri Burhanuddin:To make it easier to understand, we have to take note of the CMMA’s structure, which is not sector-based, but rather issue-based. Therefore, each deputy in the CMMA coordinates across all ministries regarding particular issues. In my department [Deputy IV] we focus on human resources, science and technology and maritime culture. 

Deputy IV CMMA coordinates and takes the lead in all cross-ministerial efforts related to plastic waste. Battling ocean waste starts with cultivating society’s culture, resources, as well as knowledge and technology. Additionally, maritime culture is also a specific issue that President Joko Widodo wants to raise to make the Indonesian people realize the importance of taking care of the oceans. 

How big is the impact of ocean plastic waste toward our ecosystem and economic development in general?

Plastic waste is a very big concern to Indonesia. There are at least three consequences if we don’t handle this seriously. First is to the tourism sector. Places like the beach or the ocean will not be a good place to visit if they’re full of garbage, and tourists will be discouraged to visit. Second is the environment. Plastic waste hampers the development of plants, coral and animals, and it is very bad for our ecosystem.

Third is the consequences toward human health. In 2015, a study by our friends from Hasanuddin University revealed that three out of 10 fish from Indonesia’s ocean contain microplastics. Further research in 2017 found that every six of 10 fish in Indonesian waters contain microplastics. Research in March 2019 found eight of 10 contain microplastics. Research by Hasanuddin University and Incheon University estimated 80 percent of Indonesian salt contains microplastics, so when seawater evaporates, microplastics are left along with salt. Our concern is that if we keep consuming microplastic-contaminated food, it might affect our genetics. 

What has the government done so far in handling plastic waste?

There are five strategic steps. First is shifting society’s mindset. The way we do this is through the Clean and Smile Culture Movement. Through this, we hope that being clean and friendly to people can be an indispensable part of Indonesian culture. This is then integrated into the Indonesia Clean Movement through INPRES 12 year 2016, which is part of the Mental Revolution Program initiated by President Widodo in 2014. We try to educate people to reduce the amount of single plastic use in their life. We worked together with the Ministry of Education and Culture to implement this by including it in the primary school curriculum in 2018.

The second step is to reduce plastic waste on land. We have many programs for this, such as TPS 3R, the Regular Cleaning Movement, which involves everyone in society, public waste monitoring, training for all cleaning workers, social media campaigns and developing incinerators in every city in Indonesia. 

The third step is to reduce plastic waste in the ocean. We are doing this by strengthening waste management regulations for passenger ships, fishing boats and other vessels. We have a lot of concerns about this because ships often dump their waste in the ocean before landing because they consider it easier. We have been seriously enforcing the International Maritime Organization regulation on marine pollution since 2017 to penalize waste dumpers. We also encourage society to participate by telling them to take pictures and report to us if they witness these violations. We also regularly collaborate with NGOs to clean beaches and the ocean. 

The fourth step is to strengthen institutions by increasing our financial capability and enhancing law enforcement. We actually have enough regulations to manage our ocean, but we need to be more serious in emphasizing these rules.

Last but not least is science and technology development. We know that there are many ways for plastic waste to be recycled. We asked companies that produce large amounts of plastics every year to find a way to make their packaging simpler. This is necessary and is already in accordance to Law No. 18 Year 2008 and its derivatives about company responsibilities for their products. 

How about management of other kinds of waste, such as chemical and electronic?

We call them “B3 waste” or hazardous and toxic substance waste, found in industry and hospitals. We have special incinerators capable of high temperature combustion processes, as these kinds of waste have high toxic levels. These incinerators convert B3 waste into ash, flue gas and heat. Currently we have 13 incinerators in cities across Indonesia. 

The main problem now is the sorting process. According to Law No. 18 Year 2008, every region is mandated to have sorting places for waste. Industries, offices and housing should have their waste sorted before they go to the landfill. It is important as the sorting process gives us the opportunity to go after waste that has economic value, allowing materials like paper and metals to be recycled into useable new products, such as fuel, fertilizer, or other materials.

What are the obstacles faced by the government in handling plastic waste?

There are several things that we need to consider in tackling this issue. First is about our people. Indonesians are not trained well enough to understand how to manage plastic waste. For instance, they do not understand how to reduce their waste in an effective way. Second, we have an issue with sorting. The sorting process is very important in waste management, as the easier the process, the more we can recycle. Our society is used to throwing their garbage randomly. Consequently, the sorting process for recycling is longer and harder, since the garbage needs to be sorted piece by piece.

Looking at these problems, I believe the main challenge is related to mindset. It is about how individuals in society understand their responsibilities and realize they are part of a larger community that has a role in determining how waste is managed. It is particularly difficult with the lower-middle class as they are used to seeing garbage surrounding their living quarters. We can see this in bus stations or traditional markets, where people are used to litter everywhere. Therefore, it is important to change society’s mindset about waste.

We also have budget issues, so we need to find more creative ways to keep pushing our waste management efforts. One creative way to handle this issue is through embedding the idea of a circular economy to society in managing plastic waste. The circular economy is where we maximize the economic value of the products we use through reuse and recycle. Through this, we believe there is an incentive for society to be more active in contributing to waste management, because they see the economic value that is a benefit for themselves. 

What is the central government’s opinion of regional government efforts [eg Bali] in banning single plastic use? 

We see this as the right thing to do to support our national efforts. The problem now is how we communicate with all stakeholders to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Some regions have banned single plastic use, while others only put certain limits on plastic use. We can understand the decisions made by regional governments as we see that they have their own limitations in processing and gathering plastic waste, therefore they find the most effective way according to their capabilities. 

How does CMMA engage society and the private sector in handling waste issues?

We see increasing public enthusiasm to participate in handling the waste issue. The number of environmental communities has rapidly increased in the past three years. As of 2019, the country has about 8,000 environmental communities. The government works together with these communities to socialize and communicate waste management-related programs to the public. This is a good step, as we believe that environmental communities, such as Trash for Hero, Waste for Change and Bye-Bye Plastic are creative in innovating movements to reduce plastic waste. We have implemented one of our programs, weekly city cleaning, in 24 provinces across in Indonesia. CMMA has also mandated every regency and city to conduct cleaning activities regularly, at least once a month, involving all components of society, including the military, police and schoolchildren to accustom this into their culture. 

For the private sectors, we are pushing them to be more responsible in handling the plastic waste they produce. We asked them to find ways to recycle plastic materials within the process of making products and packaging. We also met with the Packaging and Recycling Alliance for Indonesia Sustainable Environment (PRAISE), and encouraged it to help us reduce plastic waste, especially in industry, to achieve the 2025 goal. We also asked for help with socialization to the public about waste. Furthermore, we asked the private sectors to direct their research and development efforts to not only focus on the quality of their products, but also to find ways to make their products and packaging more environmentally friendly, for example, to reduce and/or replace sachets with other forms of packaging that are easier to sort and recycle.

How about partnerships and collaboration with other countries and international communities? 

We have done plenty of collaborations on the international scale. At the country level, we are cooperating with South Korea, who plans to give us three ships for garbage transport. Currently it has given us one ship for garbage and the other two will come soon. We are also collaborating with Japan to create a benchmark module for ocean waste, with France and the Netherlands to determine plastic waste management best practices, as well as becoming involved in the  International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) held by US Department of State to collaborate with countries around the world to select professional leaders in a variety of fields to experience and cultivate relationship with US for capacity building. We also received help from Norway and Denmark through a multi-donor trust fund dedicated especially for marine litter. 

With multinational organizations, the Asian Development Bank is giving technical assistance for waste management practices. We are also collaborating with The World Bank in research and it is mediating for us with other countries who are interested in being donors for plastic waste management. Additionally, we are working with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] for regional plastic waste management solutions. 

What is your hope for the future of waste management in Indonesia?

We hope that all components of society can increase their awareness and care toward the environment. We also hope that the circular economy way of thinking can become the norm in our culture. The circular economy offers an alternative to keep resources in use as long as possible through a cycle involving extraction of value, recovery and regeneration of materials in production. 

We also hope that figures in our community can provide positive examples for the public, as the best way to communicate with the public is through examples. Considering the impact of social media these days, the use of the platform should be maximized to increase awareness about waste management.