World Earth Day, also known as Earth Day, falls every April 22. This day was initiated by Gaylord Nelson in 1970 and marked the birth of the environmental movement in modern times.

The irony is that on Earth Day in 2022, the climate crisis is still a significant threat to the earth, especially regarding the issue of plastic waste, which is often ignored but is still a very detrimental aspect. Research by Jenna Jambeck in 2015 showed that Indonesia is the second largest country in the world after China, which contributes plastic waste to the ocean, followed by the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.

Recently, the research results entitled “Discovery and Quantification of Plastic Particle Pollution in Human Blood” also detected the presence of microplastic particles in human blood. Based on these data, plastic waste is still quite a disturbing problem.

We cannot continue to let our earth live alongside the climate crisis. Then how?

In 2020, the Indonesian government released the National Plastic Action Partnership program, with a strategy that targets Indonesia to approach zero in terms of plastic waste pollution by 2040. This target is one of the most ambitious targets set by Indonesia to overcome the crisis caused by plastic waste. Can this be achieved?

You can do it! At the very least, we must act as a solution to reduce waste, which has become a big enemy. Nowadays, we can use reusable items daily because recycling alone is not enough. Moreover, recently, there has also been research that found relatively high levels of toxins during the process and in recycled plastic products.

Recycle? Get out of the way first! Welcome to Reuse 😀

For decades, we have focused on increasing recycling, but increasing evidence shows that recycling alone will not be enough to solve the plastic waste problem. Even with an ambitious recycling strategy, plastic waste production will double by 2050.

According to a report from Breaking the Plastic Wave, reducing plastic production through upstream solutions is the solution that has the most significant impact on dealing with plastic waste in terms of environmental, economic, and social aspects.

So, to overcome the problem of plastic waste, which is getting more frightening every day, I chose to use a reuse model—starting from food and drink containers that you don’t forget to carry everywhere. This container is used if I want to buy food or drinks that have to be wrapped in single-use plastic. Usually, I ask the seller to put it directly into the food container I bring.

Apart from that, we also have to choose products responsible for personal care needs. Do you want to beautify yourself, but instead, you destroy the earth? Not really! Using responsible personal care for its products has become our obligation. Yes, although the price of private care responsible for its packaging tends to be more expensive, it is not much more costly than the environmental impact of single-use plastic.

We can also avoid reusable sachet packaging for household needs such as washing liquid for clothes, dishes, floor cleaning, etc. Now, there are lots of bulk shops that sell household necessities. Apart from that, bulk shops also provide pick-up and drop-off services to our homes. So you don’t have to bother anymore and don’t need to be confused about what to do with the waste, right?

Discussing local wisdom as a solution to protect the earth from waste generation seems to continue. This is because many reuse solutions in Indonesia can replace single-use plastic.

Suppose reuse solutions to reduce waste generation in Indonesia are numerous and easy to find. Why do we have to choose single-use items and create difficult waste to decompose? It’s time to switch to a reuse model and say goodbye to single-use plastic!

Happy Earth Day 2022! Let’s protect our earth from the dangers of single-use plastic!