Plastics pose environmental dilemma

Bayu Dwi, Contributor, Jakarta

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.