Glass bottles and plastic bottles are most likely to be picked by waste-scavengers as they could be recycled, while Styrofoam could not be reusedJakarta (ANTARA) - Between 0.27 million tons and 0.59 million tons of marine debris was dumped in Indonesia in 2018, with Styrofoam making up most of it, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) revealed in its latest research, Thursday.
Styrofoam-based garbage was largely found dumped in the waters as compared to plastic bottles since the latter had a higher value, according to LIPI's chairman Laksana Tri Handoko.
"Glass bottles and plastic bottles are most likely to be picked by waste-scavengers as they could be recycled, while Styrofoam could not be reused," Handoko explained after attending the launch of national data on marine debris in Jakarta.
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The Indonesian government should ban the use of Styrofoam for boxes and other products in people's daily lives, Handoko suggested following the research findings. Apart from the authority, Handoko also called on people to be more aware of the waste they produce, including Styrofoam that takes at least 500 years to decompose.
The Indonesian government has targeted the trimming of 0.59 million tons of waste by 70 percent in the future. One of the most effective solutions to tackle the issue was by stopping the use of any single-use Styrofoam-based products, LIPI suggested.
"But, the very first step we need to take is not littering as it will pollute our ecosystem," he added.
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Translator: Muhammad Zulfikar/Genta Tenri
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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