Regarding The Prohibition Of Use Of Single-Use Plastics And Its Sanctions

Single-use plastics are prohibited from circulating in Jakarta. How about the market? (Photo of trash cans by Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan will ban single-use plastic bags in all supermarkets, shopping centers and traditional markets. If they remain stubborn, the business license will be revoked.

This is stated in Governor Regulation Number 142 of 2019 concerning the Obligation to Use Environmentally Friendly Shopping Bags. In Article 5, all shopping places must use environmentally friendly shopping bags.

"This Governor Regulation comes into force six months from the date of promulgation. Six months is the time for the socialization, as of July 1 it will become effective," said Head of the Environment Agency Andono Warih to reporters, Tuesday, January 7.

As a substitute, all shopping places are required to use environmentally friendly shopping bags that can be used multiple times. In addition, shopping centers are asked to socialize and educate consumers to reuse shopping bags.

Considering that eco-friendly shopping bags are more expensive than single-use plastic bags, the DKI Provincial Government allows shops to sell at a certain price.

If shopping center and shop business actors do not heed this rule, the heaviest sanction that will be welcomed is the revocation of business licenses.

However, that is if they have passed other sanctions. If a business actor continues to use a single-use plastic bag, the first penalty is a written warning.

"This written warning was carried out three times," said Andono.

If they do not heed the third written warning within 3 x 24 hours after the third written warning is issued, the business manager will be subject to forced money gradually. The forced money was imposed gradually, starting from Rp. 5 million to Rp. 25 million.

Furthermore, if the business actor has been given an administrative sanction of forced money, but within five weeks they still provide plastic bags, they will be subject to administrative sanctions in the form of license suspension.

"Until finally there is the revocation of the license if the business actor still does not fulfill the payment of forced money beyond the limit of license suspension," said Andono.

However, there are incentives for managers of shopping centers, supermarkets and markets who carry out their obligations and procedures for socializing the use of environmentally friendly shopping bags. They can get regional fiscal incentives.

"Fiscal incentives are given in the form of reduction and / or local tax relief," he said.

This new policy was set by the DKI Provincial Government for the emergence of awareness that many people are still indifferent to using single-use plastic waste. Based on data, 14 percent of waste in Jakarta is single-use plastic.