Plastic Waste Contributing to River Pollution in Indonesia

Trash and Domestic Waste is the Biggest Contributor to River Pollution

77.2% stated that pollution indicators were easy to find plastic waste (38.8%) and domestic liquid waste, while 15% stated that the source of pollution came from industrial liquid waste. 7.8% of respondents stated that river pollution comes from deforestation, pesticides from agricultural activities, oil palm plantations, mining, mining and B3 waste.

The community still has high hopes for the Government to make efforts to restore the river from pollution through:

1.      Strict monitoring and supervision efforts, so that perpetrators of violations can be given sanctions so that acts of destroying or polluting rivers become a deterrent and are not restored (48%).

2.      To control the massive use of single-use plastic which is a source of waste in Indonesian rivers, the public wants regulations to reduce or punish single-use plastic (34.7%)

3.      Imposing criminal sanctions on industrial polluters (17.3%)

 

68% of people need waste management facilities

In Indonesia, only about 35% of people are served by waste management facilities, and 65% of people in Indonesia have not been served by waste facilities. In Indonesia, the focus of waste management is only in urban areas, and housing, and has not yet targeted remote villages and even communities/residents living on river banks. The uneven distribution of waste management and service facilities in Indonesia has resulted in mismanagement of waste by the community, one of which is by throwing garbage into rivers, open burning, and burning and piling up waste in open environments. In a survey conducted by Ecoton in 2022 regarding community perceptions regarding river management, 68% of respondents asked the government to provide waste management facilities in the form of TPS 3R and garbage drop-offs along the river.

 

The community is READY to Report!

Knowing about the pollution and damage to the surrounding rivers, the Indonesian people were proactive in reporting or complaining about it to environmental agencies or/to the government and apparatus at the village level, only 15.2% were silent or passively did nothing when they learned about pollution. Efforts made by the community when pollution occurs are:

1.      3% Reported to the Head of the smaller area, Head of the area, or Head of the Village

2.      4% Upload events via social media (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp group)

3.      1% Reported to City/Regency Environment Service in order

To become more familiar with the rivers in Indonesia, the community needs information about rivers so that community participation in controlling river pollution and awareness to preserve rivers can be grown. The information content required is:

1.      sources of pollution in the river (type of pollutant, character of pollution) 14.4%,

2.      potential biodiversity of fish, plants, and river biota (21.1%),

3.      authorized agency that manages the river by 8.6%,

4.      the impact of pollution on the environment and health (31%) and

5.      best practice river management (24.9%)