Plastic Waste Increases During The Corona Pandemic

Since the COVID-19 virus disease reached a high level transmission, during the pandemic outbreak people has increased their sensitivity to always maintain their hygiene. The result of it, single-use plastic materials has increased, ranging from masks, plastic bags of ordering food, to bottles of hand sanitizer. Therefore, we talked with several practitioners living with a minimum of waste about alternative options to continue  adopt a lifestyle that is safe for the environment as well as for one's own health amid the pandemic.

In this pandemic, we are using more plastic than usual. This is because people are advised to maintain cleanliness by using masks or face shields. Many of these personal protective equipment and several other medical devices are made of plastic, and make a zero waste lifestyle maybe not optimal.

Zero waste does not mean that humans do not produce waste at all. It's just that we reduce it, so that there is no accumulation of excess waste that can pollute nature.

The United Nations agency in charge of trade, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) estimates, the value of disposable mask sales this year (2020) will reach to $ 166 billion from $ 800 million last year (2019). “Plastic pollution was already one of the biggest problems for our planet before the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of personal protective products from COVID-19 is exacerbating this problem,”said Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director of International Trade at UNCTAD.

Based on historical data, as many as 75% of disposable masks and other waste related to the pandemic will end up in landfills (TPA) while others pollute the environment, scattering on the streets, sewers, rivers, and polluting the oceans. Irresponsible public behavior, littering, triggers this garbage crisis.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said that this waste and garbage not only triggers environmental damage but also harms the tourism and fisheries sector with a loss up to $ 40 billion.

UNEP data states that the current waste solution can only cut plastic waste up to 80%. More comprehensive approach is needed to handle this surge in medical waste. If it is not done, according to Inger Andersen, Director of UNEP, as quoted in the UN news, the amount of plastic waste which polluting the oceans will triple (300%) by 2040, from 11 million tonnes to 29 million tonnes per year.

As most people know, the government has banned the use of single-use plastics since July 1, 2020. However, in fact, plastic waste during the pandemic continues to increase due to online shopping activities and increased delivery of packages during the pandemic as well as medical waste.

The reported of Plastic in Packaging, citing the Ministry of Health, Indonesia has produced medical waste from 2,820 hospitals and 9,884 public health centers. It is estimated that every day Indonesia produces 290 tons of medical waste. However, Indonesia only has ten machines to reprocess this medical waste. Non-medical plastic waste itself comes from an increase in online shopping. It was noted that online shopping sites increased by 80-85 percent, while food delivery orders increased by 30-40 percent. Even though we have banned the use of single-use plastics in public places such as traditional markets or supermarkets, there is still no ban on using plastic from online shopping sites.

Quoted from the news stand, the Director General of Waste Management, Toxic and Hazardous Materials (Dirjen PSLB3) of the Ministry of Environment (KLHK), Rosa Vivien Ratnawati in the world webinar day without plastic bags, Thursday (16/7/2020). "During the Covid 19 pandemic outbreak, lifestyles really changed," Vivien said in a webinar on a global day without plastic bags, Thursday (16/7/2020).

Vivien conveyed that during the Covid-19 pandemic, people's lifestyles changed due to government policies regarding work from home (WFH).

Based on the data, there is a trend of decreasing waste from offices entering the disposal site. However, there is an upward trend in household waste. For one thing, many people shop or buy food online.

"The pile of garbage that go in to the disposal site has decreased by approximately 10 to 15% because people do not work from their office, they work at home. But the amount of plastic waste from homes has increased because people buy food online, " he said.

The Director General of PSLB3 revealed that 90 percent of food purchased online uses single-use plastic.

He reminded the public not to forget the enthusiasm and movement to reduce household waste, even though most people are currently working from home. The Director General of PSLB3 said that there are two problems with plastic waste in Indonesia that go into the sea, there are those from land and the waste from the sea itself.

"The first is waste originating from the mainland or we call it landbase, the amount is 80%, and the garbage that does come from the sea is 20%," he said.

Therefore, to prevent waste, especially plastic waste from entering the sea, it is necessary to control waste managers from the upstream, that it to say from the land.

The increase of hygiene rules, such as mandatory masks, the habit of washing hands and wearing disposable gloves during a pandemic has made us all addicted to plastic. Concerning about the environment is a priority when the pandemic came even fulfilling environment safe habits may be the last thing you think about during a global pandemic, but there are small changes we can make. 

Some efforts to protect the environment even in the midst of a pandemic is to not use single-use plastic whenever possible, including soap bottles and hand sanitizer bottles. In the end, Nina Schrank, plastic campaigner for Greenpeace believes that it is better to wash your hands regularly with plain soap rather than an anti-bacterial gel. “You can buy bar soap with minimal packaging instead of multipack plastic packs, the suggestion is to wash your hands with soap. And there is no provision that hand washing liquid from plastic bottles or pump gel is required, "he said. Then reusable face masks are much better for the environment than disposable face masks. Cloth masks are machine washable, but for the single-use option, every time you throw them away, you'll end up with more waste. For many people, buying groceries online and shipping make their live more safe, but for others, such as supermarkets, restaurants and takeaways, it may have triggered bad habits such as delivering goods in plastic bags.