I love Indonesia, in fact many years ago, my boyfriend and I considered moving there. One place I alway recommend is to visit the Komodo Dragons in Rincon. One thing I wouldn’t do there is swim in the water, because even back then over 10 years ago, the beaches were filthy. In fact as much as I love Indonesia, I haven’t been back since the 2004 Tsunami. (I left Yogyakarta Java, the week before)
Indonesia is one of the plastic polluters of the ocean. Producing up to 130, 0000 tones of plastic wast a day, In 2015, research by Jenna Jamback found that 3.2 million tons of plastic waste polluted Indonesian waters in 2010, making Indonesia the biggest source of plastic marine waste in Southeast Asia. China is number one.
I Just Got To Eco You
- 13% of Jakarta waste, 6000 tons per day is Plastic litter.
- 10,725 Tons per day in Denpasar is Plastic Litter
- 6,500 Tons per day in Palembang is Plastic Litter
- 4 of Indonesia’s rivers rank among the 20 most polluted in the world due to mismanagement plastic waste
- 200,000 tons of plastic is from rivers and streams, mainly from Java and Sumatra
- 80% of Indonesia’s 1.3 tons of ocean waste comes from improperly disposed waste from land.
Indonesia obviously is pretty embarrassed and has promised to reduce plastic pollution by the end of.2025. They say they will reduce 70% of theri plastic debris from 2017. They have joined the UN’s Clean Seas campaign and have pledged 1 billion to combat plastic pollution.
This is a very ambitious program. Indonesia has 17,000 islands and is a major manufacturer of various polluting products, but their problem is the same there that it is here and other countries: Lack of infrastructure, lack of inforcement, lack of consequences and lack of knowledge or education on the importance of marine litter.
With support from countries such as Norway and Denmark, hopefully they can achieve their plastic pollution reduction.
Resources
- The Diplomat : Oceans of Plastic
- Marine Litter in Indonesia
- The Conversation: Can Indonesia Win Against Plastic Pollution?
- Marine Debris on Indonesia Perspective