"The variety of plastic packaging waste increases globally or nationally. The composition went, from 10-11 percent to 16-17 percent of the national average," Soemiarno stated at a webinar on Thursday.
Soemiarno called on the government and private sector to make various concrete efforts to handle the increase in plastic packaging waste.
She drew attention to the fact that the UN had declared plastic waste as a pollutant, with major impacts to Earth. Indonesia, as member of the UN, is determined to support the efforts to reduce plastic waste.
As a form of concrete efforts to reduce plastic pollution, the government issued a plastic waste management regulation through the Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation No. 75 of 2019.
The government seeks to maintain the economic value of plastic waste and reuse it as much as possible, Soemiarno emphasized.
The regulation also serves as a foundation for producers to develop the principle of sustainability and responsibility in their businesses, making them not an option, but rather, an obligation for the sustainability of mankind and the planet.
Related news: Surabaya gov't promotes use of non-plastic bags in markets
Moreover, Law No. 18 of 2008 on waste management stipulates that in managing household waste, everyone must reduce and handle waste with the application of environment-friendly methods, according to Soemiarno.
Waste reduction can be achieved by limiting the waste pile and recycling and reusing waste.
Entrepreneurs are also urged to utilize production materials that produce as little waste as possible as well as materials that can be reused, recycled, and/or easily decomposed through natural processes.
"Let us sort through and process waste from now on, starting from our own," Soemiarno emphasized.
Related news: Minister to build waste bank on Batam buffer islands
Translator: Nanien Yuniar, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
