"We will sue them with the help of concrete data, and we will soon summon experts for this cause," he informed in Gianyar district, Bali province.
Nurofiq said that the Ministry of Environment is in the process of gathering data from environmental organizations and communities that have been working to help the government address Indonesia's plastic waste issue.
He added that supervisors and investigators from the ministry will study the data to support the formulation of coercive instruments aimed at forcing deviant companies to deal with the damage they cause.
To justify his initiative, the minister referred to Law No. 18 of 2008 concerning Waste Management, which stipulates that producers of packaging are responsible for controlling and managing their waste output.
"This means that it is mandatory for these companies to keep their waste within their reach. In other words, they should not delegate this responsibility to the public," he said.
He also cited Law No. 32 of 2009 regarding Environmental Protection and Management and said that the polluters are obligated to compensate for any pollution they generate.
Elaborating further on his plan, Nurofiq said that his ministry may employ two strategies against polluters: compel them to pay compensation or force them to engage in environmental restoration efforts.
If neither option works, the ministry will resort to taking legal action and charge the polluters with criminal offenses, he added.
The minister made the statements during his review of a plastic waste recycling facility operated by environmental organization Sungai Watch in Sukawati, Gianyar.
Since it was founded in 2020, the organization has been collecting data on packaging producers who contribute to environmental pollution.
I Made Dwi Bagiasa, a representative of the organization, noted that five companies have contributed the most to handling packaging waste found in several rivers and coastal areas across Bali.
He said that his organization operates five plastic recycling facilities in Gianyar, Denpasar, Tabanan, Badung, and Buleleng.
In Gianyar, Sungai Watch extracts 2.5 tons of plastic waste from rivers using nets monthly, while up to three tons of waste is cleaned up in Denpasar city every month, he added.
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Translator: Dewa K, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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