Jakarta, July 27, 2023. The year 2023 marks the fifth year of the #PlasticFreeJuly campaign by various organizations and communities in Indonesia through a collective campaign called the Plastic Free March. This joint movement aims to realize a plastic-free future through various systematic efforts ranging from policies to limit plastic production, ban single-use plastics, and expand producer responsibility to transition to a circular economy. 

In recent years, there have been many initiatives from the community to implement a zero-waste lifestyle, such as reducing the use of single-use plastics, sorting waste from home, and community participation in cleaning up plastic waste in rivers, coasts, and oceans. These efforts have yet to solve the problem of plastic pollution. Plastic pollution to the environment and the closure of landfills due to waste overloading, such as plastic, have not been successfully resolved. 

Three demands are urged by the initiators and collaborators of the 2023 Plastic Free March to answer the problem of plastic pollution and realize a plastic-free future. First, the government should be encouraged to ban single-use plastics and promote the practice of reuse as a solution. Currently, there are more than 100 regencies/cities and provinces that have banned the use of single-use plastics. The policy of prohibiting the use of single-use plastic

“Salah satu advokasi yang saat ini sedang dijalankan oleh kelompok masyarakat adalah mengenai solusi guna ulang, solusi ini sebenarnya sudah menjadi kebiasaan masyarakat Indonesia dari dulu. Namun, dengan perkembangan zaman dan adanya perubahan perilaku konsumsi, perlu upaya konkret dari pemerintah dan produsen untuk sama-sama menciptakan ekosistem guna ulang seperti sedia kala. Jika ekosistem ini diwujudkan dan dijalankan oleh seluruh masyarakat, Indonesia juga bisa menjadi contoh negara yang mempraktikkan solusi ini, sejalan dengan harapan dalam Global Plastic Treaty yang sedang disusun oleh negara-negara anggota PBB untuk mengakhiri polusi plastik,” ujar Tiza Mafira, Direktur Eksekutif Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik.

Tuntutan yang kedua adalah mendorong pemerintah memperbaiki sistem tata kelola sampah. Ini mencakup langkah-langkah perbaikan seperti penerapan kebijakan berdasarkan hirarki pengelolaan sampah, penerapan kebijakan pengurangan sampah seimbang dengan penanganan sampah, peningkatan anggaran dan infrastruktur pengelolaan sampah dan dukungan pada pengembangan ekosistem guna ulang serta pelibatan pekerja informal seperti pemulung dalam transisi menuju ekonomi sirkular. 

“Improving good waste management, starting from planning, implementation, control, and evaluation, is the key to structural problems of waste and plastic pollution. So far, good waste governance has not been running because of several things, such as waste management planning that is not based on comprehensive studies and the lack of evaluation of ongoing programs,” said Abdul Ghofar, WALHI National Pollution and Urban Campaigner. 

The last demand encourages producers and businesses to take responsibility for post-consumption waste. This involves reducing single-use plastics, using environmentally friendly packaging, and implementing obligations to expand producers’ responsibilities, such as recycling or waste management of their products. So far, 42 manufacturers have submitted roadmaps to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry for reducing waste in their packaging products. 

“FMCG producers play an important role in preventing waste generation; individual action is also necessary, but changes in the system of how products are distributed to consumers will have a significant impact,” said Atha Rasyadi, Urban Campaigner of Greenpeace Indonesia.

 The Plastic Free March 2023 activities started at the beginning of July with the agenda of the Global Plastic Treaty discussion, thematic discussion on plastic pollution, the Plastic Island film screening, and the campaign poster workshop. The peak agenda of the 2023 Plastic Free March will be held on Sunday, July 30, 2023, as a public campaign in the Jakarta Car Free Day area. This series of campaigns is a means of mainstreaming the environmental agenda, especially waste and plastic issues, in the discourse of the 2024 democratic party. 

Contact person:

Muharram Atha Rasyadi, Urban Campaigner Greenpeace Indonesia

08111-714-083

Adithiyasanti Sofia, Indonesia Plastic Bag Diet Movement

0811-2441-901

Abdul Ghofar, WALHI National Urban Campaigner

0821-1200-1871

Plastic Free March

Pawai Bebas Plastik is a collective campaign that aims to reduce the use of single-use plastics and encourage better handling of waste, especially plastic waste. This movement was first initiated by several environmental organizations such as Divers Clean Action, EcoNusa, Indonesia Plastic Bag Diet Movement, Greenpeace Indonesia, Indorelawan, Pandu Laut Nusantara, Pulau Plastik, and WALHI in 2019.

An overview of the Plastic Free March can be accessed here.