The Jakarta Post reported that the Jakarta administration has issued a ban on single-use plastic bags in modern department stores, supermarkets and traditional markets, starting in June this year.
Ban on single-use plastics will take effect in Jun. 2020
The head of Jakarta's Legal Bureau, Yayan Yuhana, told The Jakarta Post that "the ban will take effect six months after the regulation was enacted on Dec. 31".
The administration defined single-use plastic bags as those made out of different types of plastics, such as polyethylene and thermoplastics.
Regulation defines what kind of eco-friendly alternatives can be used
The regulation has specified that eco-friendly bags should be used instead.
The regulation specifies that the eco-friendly bags should be:
- Adequately thick and recyclable
- Made of leaf, cloth, paper, polyesters, and recycled materials
- Designed to be used several times before being disposed of
Any shopping centres found violating the ban will face penalties, such as written warnings, fines or business permit suspension or termination.
Indonesia contributes to over 14 percent of world's ocean plastic waste
According to a study published by Nature, the discharge from Indonesia's rivers is the source for over 14 percent of global marine plastic pollution that originates from rivers across the world.
Another Science journal report also claims Indonesia to be the second-worst offender in the world to dump plastic waste into the ocean, after China, Reuters reported.
The majority of plastic discharged from Indonesian rivers into the oceans can be traced back to the Islands of Sumatra and Java.
Photo via Google Maps
In an attempt to reduce plastic waste across the country, Jakarta's single-use plastic ban will join a long list of regions in Indonesia that have imposed such a ban.
This list includes the province of Bali and two other cities in Kalimantan.
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Top photo via Unsplash