Environment Ministry promotes community-based waste sorting through religious organisations

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Environment (KLH) is encouraging the strengthening of the national waste sorting movement through a religious community approach to accelerate the formation of public moral awareness in waste management from the household level.

Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat, at the HKBP Waste Sorting Declaration in Jakarta on Thursday, appreciated the involvement of religious organisations such as HKBP, which are considered to have an organised structure for implementing environmental management policies.

“Places that can build awareness such as churches, mosques, and temples are very good. An appeal that is so strong morally and religiously will be very good for the waste handling movement in Indonesia,” he said.

To strengthen this moral appeal, he explained that KLH is preparing an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulation that requires producers of plastic waste to be responsible for processing their product waste independently.

“So actually an appeal that is so strong morally and religiously will be very good for what movement, waste handling in Indonesia. I think that is the essence of it,” said Jumhur.

Meanwhile, Ephorus Leader of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Victor Tambunan welcomed the collaboration with KLH and the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government.

HKBP District VIII DKI Jakarta, which oversees around 200,000 to 500,000 residents, is committed to being at the forefront of normalising the waste sorting movement.

“So around half a million HKBP residents are actually in Jakarta and its surroundings. We hope HKBP will truly be at the forefront of handling this waste with the waste sorting motto mentioned earlier. And we are positioning ourselves to take part in these waste handling movements properly,” he said.