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Page added on June 2, 2013
Crippling plastic addiction
Plastic waste is choking the environment — with the world’s population consuming enough each year to wrap 10 layers around the Earth.
Once he learned of the dangers of plastic waste, I Gede Ari Astina persistently campaigned to reduce the use of plastic bags.
Popularly known by his moniker JRX, the drummer of punk rock band Superman Is Dead, has been distributing cloth bags during the band’s concerts while exposing the dangers of plastic waste since 2004.
“We continue giving out cloth bags while educating our fans until now. It’s very irrational to continue using plastic bags after knowing the devastating effects on nature and human health,” JRX told The Jakarta Post.
The tattooed musician said it would be easy to stop using plastic bags after understanding the negative effects.
“Awareness is crucial to changing habits. The greater challenge is to campaign for others to do the same,” said the Bali-based musician. “I have a hard time, for example, convincing retail employees that I don’t need the plastic bags, they can even be quite pushy about it.”
Author Dewi “Dee” Lestari said the easiest and most effective method for improving the environment started with self-action.
“Start doing it yourself, beginning in your own home,” Dee said.
Dee, who is also a singer and songwriter, said she had avoided using plastic bags since 2006.
“I bring cloth bags for shopping and I carry my own containers when I order takeout from restaurants,” she said.
For this good cause, she said the hardest part was discipline.
“We must explain to employees at the cash register that we don’t need plastic bags. We have to do this each time we shop,” said the mother of two.
Dee agreed with a campaign to pressure retailers to charge for plastic bags.
“I think it’s a good move to make people aware that plastic waste is very costly to the environment,” she said.
Verena Puspawardani, campaign coordinator for the climate and energy program at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Indonesia, said that the Indonesian government had not issued any regulations to curb the use of plastic bags.
“A number of regional administrations have called for a reduction of plastic bag use, but these incentives do not have any legal penalties,” she said.
Last year, the Diet Kantong Plastik (plastic bag diet) movement encouraged the conception of a regional regulation, No. 17/2012, which stipulates a curb in plastic bag usage in the West Java capital of Bandung, but the regulation has not been put into effect.
The movement was started by green campaign group Greeneration Indonesia in 2010.
Last month, Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama declared a “no plastic month” to encourage people to reduce their use of plastics as the movement gained support.
According to Muhammad Bijaksana Junerosano, founder of Greeneration, it takes 1,000 years for a single shred of plastic to decompose, while poisoning the soil.
People across the archipelago consume a total of 4,000 tons of plastic each day — equal to the weight of 16 Boeing 747 airplanes. Each year, plastic consumption is estimated at 100 billion bags, worth a total of Rp 11 trillion (US$1.1 billion).
In Jakarta alone, out of an average 8,000 tons of garbage produced every day, 1,060 tons is plastic waste. Of the 1,060 tons, some 500 tons come from plastic bags.
Around 7 percent of plastic waste in the country is burned, releasing toxic fumes into the air.
“Plastic is an important and very useful invention,” Junerosano said, “but excessive use is dangerous.”
8 Comments on "Crippling plastic addiction"
rollin on Sun, 2nd Jun 2013 1:26 pm
Years ago I read that plastics can decompose to form steroidal and other hormonal analogs. That gives them a direct bio-effect. Never heard much about it afterward though.
Probably any disposable item is not a good idea if it can be avoided. There is so much plastic packaging now, it used to be cardboard.
BillT on Sun, 2nd Jun 2013 1:49 pm
Paper and cardboard did the job for half of my 68 years. If you bought meat, it was wrapped in butcher’s paper and a piece of tape. Groceries were carried in paper bags. There was no ‘takeout’ in plastic crap. No frozen everything in plastic wrappers, just waxed boxes.
We managed then and we can manage now. Plastic bags are banned here in the Ps unless they are biodegradable. And they are. If you put then away to reuse them, in a few weeks, they start to get brittle and fall apart.
dave thompson on Sun, 2nd Jun 2013 2:21 pm
plastic is another example of corporations internalizing profits and externalizing costs.
Juan Pueblo on Sun, 2nd Jun 2013 3:23 pm
I spend all my free time kayaking and sailing in South Florida and the Bahamas. I avoid inhabited islands as much as possible. Every single island I visit has a plastic garbage ring all around at the high tide line, up to six feet tall. Any clean ocean beach in today’s world is cleaned by someone or it would be dirty.
rollin on Sun, 2nd Jun 2013 6:00 pm
Sorry to hear that is the situation Juan, to have that kind of a reminder shoved into your face in a wild area is sick.
We bring our own reusable bags to the grocery store. It’s easy to do and they last for years.
DC on Sun, 2nd Jun 2013 6:24 pm
I ride to store and bring everything home in my backpack. Like the people in this article, I have to explain every single time to the cashiers I dont require there toxic plastic bags. Even though they offer cloth bags-its clearly an afterthought for those corporation-greenwash. They still hand out plastic bags to people even when they buy a few items that easily be carried. It gets far worse when you consider people drive there 3 ton trash bins 5 miles to purchase single items that weigh at most, a few ounces-then haul them home in a plastic bag because, which immediately gets tossed away?…
Why? Well just because…
I find it odd, the only big corporation that refuses to play the plastic bag game is Costco of all places. Itself, a mega-corp that destroys local economies. At least they dont dump mega tons of plastic bags into the local environment while doing it-though there are plenty others that are only too happy to of course.
This is the problem of our age. People are so dis-connected from the cause and effect of their actions. Do any of them stop to consider what they are doing when the one item or shirt is tossed in a plastic bag for a few minutes ride home-then disposed off. You can tell the few people that make an effort-we stand out like a sore thumb with our backpacks-cloth bags and carrying things in our-*hands*. Consumers will look at you with a strange mixture of puzzlement\pity\contempt if you are not packing a plastic bag with its 6 ounce load around.
tubaplayer on Mon, 3rd Jun 2013 11:44 am
Where I live they charge for plastic bags. Almost everyone uses a canvas or hessian shopping bag or a shopping basket.
Kenz300 on Mon, 3rd Jun 2013 11:58 pm
All plastic should be recycled……