Indonesia's Plastic Pollution Conundrum

Indonesia is at a crossroads in its efforts to reduce plastic waste and grow its petrochemical industry. The country has made significant strides in reducing plastic bag use, with a ban in Jakarta resulting in an 82% decrease in use. However, the expansion of the petrochemical industry, which is expected to increase plastic production, poses a significant challenge to Indonesia's waste reduction goals.

## The Petrochemical Industry's Impact The petrochemical industry is a significant contributor to plastic production, with new and upcoming large-scale projects expected to increase the country's domestic production of plastic building blocks. However, this growth is expected to clash with Indonesia's waste reduction goals and climate commitments. Most plastics are made from oil and gas, which generates emissions from extraction, refining, and manufacturing.

The demand for plastic is expected to continue to grow, with daily use plastics expected to make up the bulk of demand up to 2050 in Southeast Asian countries, China, Japan, and South Korea. Experts say that there is a need to tackle this demand, rather than just focusing on plastic as a pollution and post-consumer issue. Herlina Agustin, an associate professor at Padjadjaran University, notes that every plastic product carries a carbon footprint long before it is thrown away.

## Growing Dependence on Plastic Indonesia's fast-growing demand for plastic is projected to reach 22 million metric tonnes in 2050, up from 8 million in 2022. The country's population is expected to continue rising, with urban expansion shifting lifestyles towards consumption involving short-lived plastic applications, such as packaging. The transportation and manufacturing sector expansion is expected to make up a big part of plastic demand growth.

| Category | 2022 Percentage | 2050 Percentage | | --- | --- | --- | | Everyday use plastics | 60% | 61% | | Packaging | 31% | - | | Synthetic textiles | 17% | - | | Household consumer products | 11% | - |

Substitute materials for making disposable goods, such as packaging and single-use cutlery, have been touted as part of the solution to tackling plastic pollution. However, Franky Wibowo, head of marketing at PT Bersaudara Inti Corpora, says that alternative materials often struggle to meet food safety and durability requirements for the cost.

## Alternative Solutions Elis Nurhayati, chief executive and co-founder of Daya Data Komunitas, warns that replacing plastics with other disposable materials might shift the environmental burden instead of solving the underlying problem. Instead, she advocates for strengthening longstanding reuse systems, such as refillable water dispensers and returnable cooking gas cylinders. Tiza Mafira, co-founder of Dietplastik Indonesia, says that reuse is the most realistic alternative.

A 2023 study by the UN Environment Programme found that reuse systems could reduce plastic pollution by 30% globally by 2040. Nurhayati says that restricting plastic to applications critical for societal functioning would stem unnecessary use. She also notes that if waste reduction is directly connected to economic incentives, people will change behavior much faster.

Consumers continue to rely on plastic packaging mainly because it's cheap and convenient. Herlina Agustin says that conventional plastics are artificially cheap because the price excludes environmental costs. The challenge is not only replacing materials but changing systems of consumption. Many of the solutions being promoted in Indonesia focus on plastics only after they have been produced, rather than addressing the root cause of the problem.