During a webinar on Friday (19/2) with Hari Peduli Sampah Nasional (National Waste Awareness Day), Danone-AQUA, together with National Geographic Indonesia, the Malu Dong Community, Systemiq, and Octopus Indonesia discussed actions to accelerate Indonesia’s transition to a circular economy and support needed to solve Bali’s plastic waste issue.
According to data from National Geographic Indonesia, the volumes of plastic waste in Indonesia as of April 2020 have reached approximately 6.8 million tons and are expected to increase by 5% each year.
The President Director of Danone-AQUA, Corine Tap, said that the only way to achieve the Indonesian government’s target of reducing plastic waste by 70% in 2025 would be to commit to a holistic circular economic approach, with greater innovation of product packaging, plastic waste collection, and consumer education. Bali Another Day, Another Adventure♪Play Video
“We have implemented innovative waste management initiatives, starting from grassroots to the recycling facilities and innovative packaging. We are committed to utilizing collected materials in producing new packaging for our water bottle products, thus reducing plastic waste into the environment and which embodies Danone’s global vision called Our Planet, Our Earth” said the Head of Danone’s Climate and Water Stewardship, Ratih Anggraeni during the webinar.
The Program Manager of Systemiq, Lincoln Rajali Sitohang said that according to their research, from the total of 829 tons of plastic generated in Bali on a single day, only 57 tons (7%) are recycled, while the other 89 tons (11%) remain in the sewer system before going to the ocean.
Since 2018, Danone has been promoting plastic waste management through various public campaigns focusing on three pillars:
Collection – Since 2018, over 1,100 scavenges joined AQUA’s Recycling Business Units (RBU) to collect plastic water bottles through a digital application called Octopus
Education – Cooperating with several related Indonesian Ministers and Child Organization, the company launched and distributed a book titled Sampahku, Tanggung Jawabku (My Waste My Responsibility) which targets elementary schools across Badung, Denpasar, and Gianyar
Innovation – Danone-AQUA is committed to producing plastic packaging that can be 100% recycled by 2025.
The Co-Founder and CEO of Octopus Indonesia, Mohammad Ichsan believes that the local community can actively participate to keep the ocean clean through more efficient waste management.
“I believe that the community-based approach is the most effective way to solve this issue. And no matter how small the effort is, if we can run the program consistently we will start to see some positive impact to a wider community in the future,” Founder of Malu Dong Community, Komang Bimo concluded.
Source: The Bali Sun
