The ministry's Director General of Waste, Garbage, and Hazardous Toxic Materials Management, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, pointed out that 18 percent of the total waste in Indonesia is plastic, weighing up to 13 million tons per year.
"We want all works (in waste handling) to be able to realize zero waste and zero emissions," she emphasized in a statement from her office on Friday.
Ratnawati noted that Indonesia, as an archipelagic country, is highly prone to the impacts of climate change.
She affirmed that the government has a strong commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resilience in Indonesia, including by addressing plastic waste pollution to prevent it from polluting the environment.
She drew attention to the fact that low-value plastic waste, such as used plastic bags, had often not been handled properly, as it does not have high economic value.
Hence, the initiative to convert low-value plastic waste into fuel is a good effort to tackle waste pollution in Indonesia, she said.
"We have to manage low-value plastic waste because there are not many people interested," Ratnawati stated.
In future, she expressed hope that the fuel processed from plastic waste would comply with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources' standards. In this way, fuel oil from plastic waste can be properly used by the public.
Private sector player PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI) partners with the government in reducing waste pollution by converting plastic waste into fuel oil.
PPLI Research and Development Manager Lely Fitriyani stated that her side had pioneered the processing of waste into fuel in Indonesia since 1993. The company has produced synthetic fuel from high-calorie hazardous waste and has been used by its partners.
"This effort is nothing new for us because we have been doing it for almost 30 years. Our experience is useful to utilize the plastic waste," she remarked.
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Translator: Sugiharto Purnomo, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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