Plastic waste, deal with it or face the risk
Plastic waste, deal with it or face the risk
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Bayu Dwi
Contributor
Jakarta
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Plastic has become integrated with people's daily lives. It
can range in form from shopping bags through to automotive
components. And what's more, it's cheaper.
However, since plastic is one of the most destructive
pollutants, it has been gradually replaced with other materials
such as wood, glass, paper and iron.
Still, demand for plastic is still high. Every year, according
to State Minister of Research and Technology Hatta Radjasa, local
demand for plastic reaches 1.5 million tons, or about 7 kg per
capita. Some 800 factories are responsible for producing plastic
products.
The high demand for plastic, however, is not compatible with
an ability to manage plastic waste.
According to research conducted in 1994 by the Agency for the
Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), out of 20,000
tons of garbage collected every day in Jakarta, some 7.5 percent
is plastic waste. It means that approximately 1,500 tons of
plastic waste should be managed on a daily basis. Across the
country, the figure was recorded at 1.6 million tons per year, or
some 4,400 tons of plastic waste a day.
If a solution for the management of plastic waste is not
implemented immediately, there will be mountains of it
everywhere. Furthermore, as plastic is not biodegradable, the
environment will be its first victim.
Indonesia is not alone in facing problems in dealing with
plastic waste. Other countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal
are also in the same boat. The method of dumping garbage at the
final dumping site -- including all kinds of waste -- is still
popular in these countries.
"An integrated garbage management system is needed for all
kinds of garbage, not only plastic," said Lies A. Wisojodharmo of
the BPPT's Polymer group, the Center for Assessment and
Application of Material Technology.
The integrated system, she said, should combine several
aspects such as recycling, composting, incinerating and sanitary
landfill. This approach supports the 4-R program, namely Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle and Replace -- now an international consensus.
"Ideally, garbage is sorted right at its source. For example,
household garbage should be separated into organic and inorganic
categories at each house," she said.
However, she found that some people were still reluctant to
sort their garbage.
"Before this system is adopted, efforts must first be made to
raise the public's awareness of the need to sort garbage," Lies
explained.
Active participation of four parties -- the government, the
public as garbage producers, recycling entrepreneurs and
scavengers -- is crucial for the success of waste management.
Some plastic recycling industries have started recycling
plastic waste they receive from scavengers.
According to the Indonesian Plastic Recycling Association
(AIDUPI), the plastic waste collected from a final dumping site
(TPA), like the one in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, is categorized as
filthy and must be cleaned several times. On the other hand,
plastic waste generated from factories, such as rejects, is
clean.
When the plastic waste is clean, it will be cut up into
pellets. Every 10 tons of plastic waste will generate 2.8 tons of
plastic pellets.
In order to create new products, the pellets will later be
mixed with some new plastic materials. The percentage of the
additional materials depends on the raw materials. Plastic
collected by scavengers, for instance, will need between 60 to 80
percent additional new plastic materials, while plastic from
factories only requires about 50 percent of new plastic
materials.
The recycling capacity of factories varies. A small-scale
factory can recycle about 3 to 4 tons of plastic waste per day,
while large-scale factories can do the same with some 5-10 tons
of plastic waste a day.
AIDUPI can manage about 495 tons per day.
Sometimes, pellets like PE (Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene)
and PET (Polyethylene Terephtalate) are sold directly to plastic
manufacturers.
Black PE pellets are sold at Rp 4,600 per kilogram and white
pellets sell for Rp 6,000 per kilogram. The price of PP pellets
stands at Rp 6,500 each kilogram. The PET pellets can even be
exported or sold to factories producing dolls' hair and helmets.
However, some people believe that the recycling sector is not
yet strong enough to ensure proper plastic waste management.
Lies said that out of the 4,400 tons of plastic garbage
produced on a daily basis across the country, only 11 percent can
be recycled, while the remainder is left scattered, contaminating
rivers and the land.
A breakthrough in plastic manufacturing is needed. Current
technology should enable us to produce environmentally friendly,
degradable plastics (EDPs). In this way, plastic waste can be
destroyed by microbes or destroy itself due to natural phenomena,
such as temperature and weather.
The Polymer Technology Center of Puspitek Serpong, for
instance, has been successful in its research to produce a
polymer that microbes consume, such as the grafted co-polymer of
starch-poly methyl acrylate (S-g-PMA).
This grafted co-polymer is generated from the mixture of
starch (tapioca) and monomer methyl acrylate. The inclusion of
several other additives produces plastic. When this plastic gets
buried in the earth, microbes decompose it.
Indonesia's factories, however, are ready to use
environmentally friendly plastic. The problem is, it is only
available in small quantities and its price can be four to ten
times higher than petrochemical-based plastics.
"Industries related to the use of plastic need to be warned
(about the danger plastic poses for the environment). At least,
they should pay a fee for treating their plastic waste. Look,
plastic packages for food or drinks are simply thrown away. The
producers should be responsible for plastic waste. Funds raised
from them could be used to treat the waste or be allocated for
research purposes," Lies said.