Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – Hundreds of people wearing blue T-shirts walked around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta during Car Free Day on Sunday to campaign against the use of plastic straws.
Organized by cosmetics company Body Shop Indonesia, the environmentalists in blue T-shirts were volunteers who collected plastic straws and offered passersby an ecofriendly alternative made from paper.
"We successfully collected more than 2,000 plastic straws in less than an hour," said Body Shop Indonesia CEO Aryo Widiwardhono.
"The Body Shop Indonesia has been campaigning the antiplastic movement since 2013. It takes 500 to 1,000 years for plastic waste to decompose and it is one of the biggest pollutants in the world," he added.
Activists collected a total of 2,458 straws, each measuring 22 centimeters, by the end of Car Free Day. If strung together, the straws would stretch a length of 539 meters.
The plastic straws were then brought to the Bank Sampah Kreasi waste bank in Rawasari, Central Jakarta.
Local celebrity, environmentalist and avid diver Nadine Chandrawinata supported the movement to reduce plastic waste in the ocean.
"Whenever we're at a cafe and about to order a drink, tell the waiter that we won't need a straw. We should start bringing our own reusable straw from home," she said, noting that stainless straws were sold at numerous stores. (vla/evi)