A kid plays on a boat surrounded by marine plastic water along the coast of Tambaklorok Village, Semarang, in Central Java on June 8,2017 (Antara Photo/Aji Styawan)
BY: JAYANTY NADA SHOFA
MAY 29, 2021
Jakarta. Asean just recently unveiled a new local action plan to deal with marine debris, as the world drowns in plastic contamination.
According to the bloc’s secretary-general Lim Jock Hoi, marine plastic debris does not just threaten life under the sea, but microplastics can likewise invade the human food cycle. Plastic contamination likewise puts fishery and tourism– two sectors that are essential to the area’s economies– in jeopardy.
” The volume of solid waste generated throughout Southeast Asia has rapidly increased recently. Fifty three percent of this waste in the region stays uncollected,” Lim Jock Hoi told an online conference on Friday.
” Eighty percent of the marine debris is plastic. Comparable studies highlight that we will see more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.”
The alarming circumstance triggered Asean to create an action plan on combating marine plastic particles in the area. The secretary-general exposed the regional action plan would offer 3 useful options across the plastic waste value chains.
” To start with, we can work towards lowering input into the system by supporting markets in making use of recyclable and recycled products,” he stated.
Another solution is to improve strong waste management infrastructure in a bid to enhance collection and minimize leakage.
” Last but not least, we need to produce a worth in recycling waste by enhancing public perception and providing access to much better technologies and practices,” Lim Jock Hoi stated.
These solutions will act as a springboard for 14 regional actions across four pillars– namely policy assistance and preparation; research study, innovation and capability building; economic sector engagement; public awareness, education and outreach.
Amongst the 14 regional actions is providing assisting concepts for phasing out choose single-use plastics.
The regional action strategy is to be executed over the next 5 years. In its making, Asean likewise got support from the World Bank via Problue– an umbrella multi-donor trust fund dedicated to promote healthy oceans.
Plastic Island Chain
A 2015 research study ranked Indonesia as the world’s second biggest marine polluter after China. The study showed, in 2010, Indonesia produced 3.2 million lots of mismanaged waste with approximately 1.29 million lots of plastic waste ended up in the ocean.
The finding has actually painted a grim image of Indonesia’s plastic waste management.
In reaction, the federal government has actually set a target to slash marine plastic waste by 70 percent by2025 The Jakarta provincial government has likewise banned single-use plastic bags in shopping mall, supermarkets, and traditional markets. This ban has actually required the general public to bring a recyclable bag whenever they go shopping.
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