Plastic poses threat to earth's survival<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Plastic, an indispensable product of modern
\nlife, is now not only a menace, but also a serious threat to
\nearth's survival, a plastic expert said yesterday.<\/p>\n
"No one can deny that plastic has made our life easier and
\nthat we cannot avoid using it," Welly Walalangi, the chairman of
\nthe Association of Plastic Recycling Industry, said.<\/p>\n
Welly told a seminar on the role of retail businesses in
\nconserving the environment that, in spite of increasing public
\nawareness of the plastic menace, its use had continued to grow.<\/p>\n
"We will have to decide on the efficiency of its use. To whom
\ndoes this earth belong? Plastic or human?" he said.<\/p>\n
Of his own young industry, Welly said it has made little
\ntechnological progress in recycling plastic.<\/p>\n
Only 10 percent of the 600 tons of new plastics consumed in
\nIndonesia each year came from recycling, he said.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the use of plastic has continued to grow.<\/p>\n
Plastic now makes up about 2.5 percent of all waste.<\/p>\n
In Metropolitan Jakarta, the size of plastic waste reaches
\n419.7 cubic meter per day, while in other big cities, they reach
\n188.31 cubic meters a day.<\/p>\n
"This inorganic waste is becoming a grave problem because
\nmanufacturers tend to package their products in plastics. From
\ncosmetics, toys, office equipment, clothing to drinking water,
\nthey all use plastics excessively. Their goal? Simply to make
\ntheir products more attractive," Welly said.<\/p>\n
He estimated that if each of the 63 companies producing
\nbottled mineral water in Indonesia used 400 tons of plastic
\nannually, their combined contribution would amount to tens of
\nthousands of plastic waste each year.<\/p>\n
Society should reconsider their current lifestyle which
\nemphasized on practicality, he said.<\/p>\n
"The inability to manage city's waste should have warned us
\nthat households products's contribution to the mounting plastic
\nwaste was not small.<\/p>\n
"This kind of lifestyle should be given a serious thought to
\nend the prolonged problem of managing waste," he said.<\/p>\n
The seminar yesterday was organized by Body Shop, a
\nmanufacturer of skin and health products.<\/p>\n
Didik J. Rachbini, an economist of the Mercu Buana University
\nin Jakarta, told the seminar that retailers and consumers alone
\ncannot be expected to reduce plastic uses.<\/p>\n
Didik suggested an indirect preventive measure, targeting at
\nindustries, especially those making consumer products.<\/p>\n
He suggested the use of financial incentives and punishments
\nto encourage manufacturers to turn to recycling and discourage
\nthose whose activities could harm the environment. (09)<\/p>",
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