The capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, will ban single-use plastics starting on 1 July 2020. Based on the new regulation, shopping centers, supermarkets and traditional market must offer environmentally friendly shopping bag as an alternative.
Besides offline stores, the Jakarta Provincial Government is also looking to reduce the usage of single-use plastic by online platforms and marketplaces. Around 96% of online shopping packages use plastic covers, bubble wrap and other packages that largely go unsorted creating waste that poses environmental pollution risks.
The government released “The Obligation to Use Environmentally Friendly Shopping Bags” in 2019. Materials for reusable bags can range from dry leaves, paper, textile, polyester and its derivatives, or recycled materials. These bags must have sufficient thickness, can be used repeatedly and recycled afterwards.
In Indonesia, currently there are four cities which have banned the use of single-use plastics. They are Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, Bogor and Bali. This initiative is part of the country’s overall goal to reduce plastic waste by 70% and total waste by 30% through reduction, reuse and recycling by 2025.