Irsyan Hasyim (Kontributor), Jakarta – Ministry of Environment said it has received approval from President Prabowo Subianto to halt plastic waste imports.

Novrizal Tahar, the Director of Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment, said Minister Hanif Faisol had conveyed to Prabowo about stopping the import of plastic waste from developed countries for recycling industry purposes.

"The minister has formally penned letters and communicated with relevant ministries, including the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Trade, and Ministry of Industry," Novrizal told Tempo on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.

He said importing plastic scrap requires a letter of recommendation from the Ministry of Environment. "When it's banned, the demand will be met through domestic raw materials," said Novrizal.

Prior to this, Minister Hanif emphasized that waste imports must be halted considering the burden it adds to the country's waste management problems.

According to Hanif, the cessation of waste imports must begin this year. "Whatever the reason, colonizing us by sending waste to Indonesia is enough," he said. "Steps must be taken to reduce and stop waste import regardless of reasons."

Novrizal explained that this ban would leave the recycling industry unaffected, as any demand would be fulfilled by domestic supply.

"In the past three years, plastic scrap imports reached 190,000 in 2022, 260,000 in 2023, and 220,000 tons so far this year," he said.

Based on the National Waste Management Information System 2023, Novrizal stated that Indonesia generated a total of 56.6 million tons of waste, with approximately 18.71 percent, or 11 million tons of plastic waste.

Thus far, about 1.28 million tons of domestic plastic scrap have been absorbed by the industry. "Meaning, there is huge potential to boost the recycling rate of plastic waste in Indonesia," he said.

According to Novrizal, to optimize the utilization of plastic scrap, the Ministry of Environment has asked local governments to focus on waste processing.

The Ministry also sent official letters to 613 producers in Indonesia, urging them to develop waste reduction roadmaps as well as encouraging neighborhoods to have waste bank units and villages with central waste banks.

"These steps are supported by intensive communication with the informal sector, whether it's the Indonesian Waste-pickers Union, the ecopreneur movement, or young people," he said.

All of these policies, according to Novrizal, are strategies to increase the domestic recycling rate for plastic waste. "By itself, it will be easy for us to solve the shortage from imports," he said.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1945632/prabowo-approves-of-plastic-waste-import-ban-ministry-claim