“During pandemic plastic waste in Jakarta had increased. This happens because people shop online more and for package to deliver their orders using plastic bags”
(Andono Warih - Head of Jakarta Provincial Government’s Environmental Agency)
Jakarta is a dynamic city with 10.5 million inhabitants and has a very high population density of 14,464 people per square kilometer (37,460/ sq mi). As the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta is not only a center of governmental activities but also a center for business activities are located and the city has also reached the highest income per capita compared to other cities in Indonesia which lead to the high consumption of the goods.
The shopping culture in Jakarta, either in the shopping malls or traditional market, is always associated with the use of plastic material as a shopping bag. In consequence, the number of plastic bag consumption has increased too. Head of Jakarta Provincial Government’s Environmental Agency, Andono Warih, stated that everyday Jakarta citizens produce around 1000 tons of plastic waste. Among them, 650-800 pieces are single-use plastic bags.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on 27 December 2019 signed the regulation “PergubNo. 142/2019 on eco-friendly bag usage”. This regulation came into force on July 2020. Before that, in January 2020, there was a trial of the implementation of this regulation in two traditional markets located in Tebet, South Jakarta.
Pergub No. 142/2019 requires managers of shopping centers, supermarkets, and public markets to use environmentally friendly shopping bags. It also urges them to provide eco-friendly shopping bags, such as made of polyester, dry leaves, or paper. The government will provide an incentive for the business owner by reducing the tax. To get the incentive the business owner needs to request to the local government. As punishment for obeying this regulation, the government will send warning up to three times, if it is still ignored, the business owner will get administrative punishment to permit suspension and termination, also fine range from IDR 5-25million.
The regulation is raising awareness to the Jakarta citizen to bring their own shopping bag. There are a lot of campaigns on social media about this regulation. For example, the Mayor of South Jakarta posted on his Instagram that he always carries eco-friendly shopping bags. There are also a lot of memes on the internet about this regulation, such as instead of using plastic bags, people can carry buckets, pans, or even wheelbarrows to the supermarket.
Based on my observation through news portals and social media platforms, more young people respond positively to the regulation. They discuss issues about the danger of plastic waste for the environment and create campaign against single-use plastic bags. It is becoming an eco-friendly trend among young people to carry their own-shopping bags when shopping.
Presumably, this eco-friendly trend doesn’t fit everyone. The small-scale shops will still face issues of finding the right solution to replace the single-use plastic bag that basically is easier and cheaper to get. The old-fashioned customers still get used to the single-use plastics bag to carry their stuffs. The underprivileged customers cannot afford the eco-friendly bags provide by the stores because it costs money, meanwhile a single-use plastic bags is free.
References:
Jakarta to ban single-use plastic bags by June
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/01/07/jakarta-to-ban-single-use-plastic-bags-by-june.html, as at 07 January 2020
Kantong Plastik Dilarang di Jakarta, Berikut Aturan & Sanksinya
https://katadata.co.id/sortatobing/berita/5efc566b1de5f/kantong-plastik-dilarang-di-jakarta-berikut-aturan-sanksinya, as at 01 July 2020
Penggunaan Kantong Plastik Sekali Pakai Resmi Dilarang di DKI Jakarta
https://www.dw.com/id/penggunaan-kantong-plastik-resmi-dilarang-di-dki-jakarta/a-54006899, as at 01 July 2020
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