WALHI: Disposable Nappies Dominate Waste at Tulungagung's Sidem Beach

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) East Java has reported that disposable nappy waste is the most common type of rubbish polluting Sidem Beach in Tulungagung Regency, followed by plastic sachet packaging and disposable drinking water cups. The conclusion was delivered by Lucky Wahyu Wardana, Head of the Advocacy and Campaign Division of WALHI East Java, on Sunday, following a brand audit of plastic waste and hazardous materials conducted with various parties and environmental volunteers the previous day (Saturday, 18 July). The results showed that the volume of disposable nappies found reached 52 kilogrammes, making it the largest type of waste out of a total of 153.63 kilogrammes of identified inorganic rubbish. “This finding serves as a basis to push producers to take responsibility for the packaging waste they generate,” he said. Besides disposable nappies, WALHI recorded approximately 10 kilogrammes of branded sachet packaging, dominated by Mie Sedaap and Luwak White Coffee products. In the category of bottled drinking water cups, the Club brand was the most frequently found with 101 packages, while paper packaging was dominated by Pop Mie with 54 packages. The audit also found unbranded single-use plastic bags weighing around 34 kilogrammes. According to Lucky, brand identification was carried out to determine which producers contribute the most packaging waste, providing a basis for advocacy to reduce single-use plastics. Siti Mutmainnah, Public Policy Manager of WALHI East Java, stated that the waste problem is not solely the responsibility of the government or the public as consumers, but also of producers. She explained that producers are obliged to develop a waste reduction roadmap as stipulated in the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation Number 75 of 2019. “The results of this audit will serve as advocacy material to encourage producers to reduce the use of single-use packaging and switch to more environmentally friendly systems,” she said. Sidem Beach was chosen as the audit location because it is the estuary of the Niyama River, which carries waste flows from upstream areas. Based on the team’s observations, most of the waste is suspected to have been carried by river currents before eventually being stranded on the coast. The findings were obtained through a beach clean-up and brand audit organised by WALHI East Java together with the Wilis Circle Alliance of Indonesia, the Mangkubumi Environmental Education Centre, the Himalaya Nature Lovers Student Group, and the Aksara Student Press Institute as part of the Plastic Free July campaign. From the activity, the team collected 22 sacks of waste with a total weight of 252.15 kilogrammes, then sorted and audited 153.63 kilogrammes of inorganic waste.