Plastic Waste Leaks Into The Sea Drop To 41.68 Tons

Plastic trash (photo: intermediate)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) said there was a decrease in the leakage of plastic waste into the sea by around 41.68 percent or the equivalent of 256,614 tons of waste arising since 2018.

Assistant Deputy for Waste Management and Waste Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Rofi Alhanif, said that in 2018, there was a leak of 615,675 tons of garbage into the sea.

"Until the end of last year, we could reduce around 41.68 percent of the 2018 position. This figure is quite good," said Rofi quoting Antara.

There has been a decrease of 256,614 tons, with processed data from the National Sea Waste Management Coordination Team (TKNPSL) showing the number of plastic waste leaks in 2023 reaching 359,061 tons

The Indonesian government previously targeted to reduce the amount of plastic waste ending at sea by 70 percent by 2025 as stated in the National Action Plan for Sea Waste Management (RAN PSL).

He said there are several challenges that must be addressed to pursue this target. Some of these issues include the level of garbage collection that has not been maximized, the budget for waste system management and inadequate human resource capacity.

"Our waste collection is not yet optimal, especially in rural areas or areas where the waste service is still very weak," he said.

In addition, he continued, there are facts that plastic consumption is increasing along with the increase in population, the waste system at ports and marine tourism objects has not been optimal, public awareness that still needs to be improved and the unintegrated land and sea waste data management system.