Time for Businesses to Apply EPR

THE massive piles of waste polluting both the land and the sea is enough reason for the private sector to carry out the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) immediately. The government urges the manufacturing industry, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retailers that use the most plastic for their product packaging to take responsibility by reducing plastic waste from their products and services as soon as possible.

This call was made by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Director for Asia and the Pacific Office Dechen Tsering when attending the Fourth Intergovernmental Review Meeting on the Implementation of the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (IGR-4) at Inaya Putri Bali Hotel in Bali, Nusa Dua, yesterday.

Tsering said that EPR needs to be implemented by the private sector. She also said that all countries attending the IGR-4 should work together and take real actions to solve marine litter issues.

Data from the UN show that the world uses an average of 5 trillion plastic sheets every year. And the non-profit organization Ocean Conservancy estimated around 150 million tons of plastic waste are currently polluting the sea.

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail industries mostly use single-use plastics that are difficult to recycle. And their products are used by households the main group that supports the economy. Regulating the use of plastics by the industry should be done wisely because it will impact the economy.

A report from the American Chemistry Council and environmental accounting firm Trucost estimates that environmental cost (the price to solve pollution caused by a single product) will be five times higher if the soft drink industry uses alternative packaging such as glass, tin or aluminum instead of plastics.

Developing Bioproducts
Separately, Director General for Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Rosa Vivien Ratnawati said right now an average Indonesian person produces 0.7 kg waste per day. If this amount is multiplied by the country’s population of 264 million (data based on the World Bank), then the average waste produced by Indonesia could amount to 184,800 tons.

Managing that massive amount of waste can’t be done by only one party, it also needs serious commitment from the private sector, she said. Ms. Ratnawati added that the national EPR draft is expected to be issued this year in the form of a ministerial decree.

On the other hand, assistant to the Deputy of Bioresources at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs Andri Wahyono said that the ministry fully supports the development of biodiversity products that can substitute conventional plastics.

“The government sees the need for a policy that will ban plastics for special purposes gradually. We encourage the development of industries that use local, biodegradable products that can decompose into natural minerals that are useful and doesn’t have negative impacts on the environment,” he told Media Indonesia.

He said the government’s commitment related to marine litter is stipulated in the 2018 Presidential Regulation No 83 on Marine Litter Management. The regulation will still need to be complemented with other laws especially the preventive ones and with various incentives for the growth and development of eco-friendly industries that use biodegradable materials. (Fat/S1-25)

Sudah Saatnya Swasta Laksanakan EPR

MASIFNYA sampah mencemari daratan dan perairan saat ini mendesak sektor swasta untuk melaksanakan extended producer responsibility (EPR). Industri manufaktur, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), dan retail yang paling banyak menggunakan plastik untuk kemasan didesak untuk segera mengambil tanggung jawab mengurangi limbah plastik dari produk-produk mereka.

Hal itu dikemukakan langsung Direktur Asia Pasifik United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) Dechen Tsering saat menghadiri The Fourth Intergovernmental Review Meeting on the Implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land Based Activities (IGR-4) di Hotel Inaya Putri Bali, Nusa Dua, kemarin.

“Kita butuh EPR untuk sektor pribadi dan kita butuh pemerintah dari seluruh dunia yang hadir hari ini dalam forum global untuk bekerja sama dan ikut dalam aksi kita,” ujar Tsering, Rabu (31/10).

Data PBB menyebutkan tiap tahun rata-rata 5 triliun lembar plastik digunakan di seluruh dunia. Sementara itu, lembaga nirlaba Ocean Conservancy memprediksi terdapat 150 juta ton sampah plastik di lautan saat ini.

Industri FMCG dan retail umumnya menggunakan pelastik sekali pakai yang sulit didaur ulang. Penggunanya ialah rumah tangga yang konsumsinya menjadi penopang utama perekonomian.

Meregulasi penggunaan plastik oleh industri merupakan dua ‘mata pisau’ yang harus digunakan secara bijaksana karena akan berdampak langsung pada perekonomian.

Sebuah laporan dari American Chemistry Council dan firma akuntansi lingkungan Trucost memperkirakan biaya lingkungan (harga yang harus dibayar untuk mengatasi polusi yang dihasilkan suatu produk) akan lima kali lebih tinggi jika industri minuman ringan menggunakan kemasan alternatif, seperti kaca, timah atau aluminium, dan bukannya plastik.

Pengembangan produk hayati
Dirjen Pengelolaan Sampah, Limbah, dan B3, Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan (KLHK) Rosa Vivien Ratnawati dalam keterangan terpisah mengungkap saat ini satu orang di Indonesia menghasilkan rata-rata 0,7 kg sampah per hari. Jumlah tersebut jika dikalikan dengan 264 juta masyarakat Indonesia versi Bank Dunia, rata-rata sampah per hari yang dihasilkan orang Indonesia mencapai 184.800 ton.

Tentu pengelolaan sampah sebesar itu tidak bisa ditangani satu pihak saja, tetapi perlu komitmen dunia usaha.

Rosa berharap draf EPR nasional yang rencananya diterbitkan berupa peraturan menteri dapat terbit akhir tahun ini.

Di kesempatan terpisah, Asisten Deputi Sumber Daya Hayati, Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Kemaritiman, Andri Wahyono, mengutarakan Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Kemaritiman mendukung penuh pengembangan produk keanekaragaman hayati yang juga bisa untuk menyubstitusi penggunaan plastik konvensional yang kini menjadi persoalan besar bagi lingkungan.

“Komitmen pemerintah ialah memandang perlunya suatu kebijakan untuk mengurangi penggunaan plastik secara bertahap untuk jenis-jenis penggunaan tertentu (a gradual plastic bans policy), dan salah satunya ditunjukkan dengan mendorong tumbuhnya industri produk berbahan baku lokal yang secara biologis dapat terurai menjadi mineral alamiah yang sangat berguna dan tidak memberikan dampak negatif kepada lingkungan,” jelas Andri kepada Media Indonesia.

Ia menjelaskan komitmen pemerintah terkait dengan sampah laut tertuang dalam Peraturan Presiden Nomor 83 Tahun 2018 tentang Penanganan Sampah Laut. Kebijakan tersebut, lanjutnya, perlu ada kebijakan-kebijakan lainnya khususnya yang bersifat preventif, dan dengan berbagai insentif bagi tumbuh kembangnya industri barang-barang yang berbahan biodegradable. (Fat/S1-25)