Plastic Bag Diet Program

Plastic bags are often used by humans to help daily human activities. Even today it is proven that plastic bags have a lot of influence on human activities by providing benefits such as health problems, hygiene, security, even using plastic bags is considered very practical to use if someone has a lot of items to carry compared to bags made of other materials. Lots of plastic bags are now decorated and colored in such way to attract attention from certain images or motifs, various sizes, and various shapes. And it is proven that fascinating plastic bags are widely used by people.

It has been said that humans have a high demand for plastic bags, but on the other hand it is also have a bad risk of using these plastic bags in large quantities. Plastic is a material that is difficult to decompose, so if we use plastic bag then throw it away as a plastic waste, the plastic bag will last for years, especially if we waste it continuously in large quantities. This condition must be avoided in order to circumvent prolonged environmental pollution.

The material for making plastic bags is usually made of Polyethene (PE), it is the cause plastic will not break down easily in a short time, because Polyethene material can decompose in 500 to 1000 years. If the plastic waste is left in a long  period, it will damage the environment, hamper the infiltration process, cause flooding because many drainages are blocked, it can also damage soil fertility.

Plastic bag waste has become a common problem in various parts of the world. Not a few countries and cities in the world are making efforts to resolve environmental pollution caused by plastic bag waste. Governments in various countries have made policies to resolve the problem of plastic waste, from banning the use of plastic bags, making paid plastic bag regulations, replacing plastic bags with bags which are more biodegradable. However, even though they have made these policies, the government still unable to control all public behavior, it makes the policy will not be successful if there are no additional effective   and efficient regulations to safe this nature.

One of the studies from the Earth Policy Institute (2013), Hong Kong has succeeded in reducing the use of plastic bags as much as 75 percent in modern retail stores. Hong Kong made paid plastic bag regulation and this policy was implemented in 2009. In Europe, the Danish state imposes a tax on all producing factories for plastic bags and paper in 1994. When the tax was implemented, the Danish state succeeded in reducing of plastic bag use the rate up to 60 percent. In Indonesia itself, the paid plastic bag policy was implemented in 2009, it is inhold in Environmental Protection and Management Law number 32. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) also issued a circular for the regional heads to implement a paid plastic bag policy in order of reducing the use of plastic bags in their community. The circular is, SE Minister of Environment Number S.1230 / PSLB3-PS / 2016 dated 17 February 2016 regarding Prices and Mechanisms for the Application of Paid Plastic Bags. With this circular, the KLHK stipulates a minimum price for each plastic bag of Rp. 200, -. In some cities, the minimum price has been determined in the circular with the aim that people will take the initiative to bring their own shopping bags from home rather than spending money for plastic bags. In DKI Jakarta area the price of  plastic bag is IDR 5,000, in Makassar the price is IDR 4,500, and in Balikpapan the price is IDR 1,500. This program was trialled in September 2016.

The paid plastic bag policy has been trialled in several cities, and this program is considered quite effective because in the statistics from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the first three months, there has been a decrease in using of plastic bags by 25 to 30 percent. The results of this trial will be used as a guidance in drafting regulations on paid plastics. The guideline will be used for local governments, it is based on Law no. 18 of 2008, the responsibility for handling waste is the authority of the local government. Unfortunately, years after this trial was conducted, the latest policies regarding the use of paid plastic bags never been hear any more.

The issue of plastic bags began to be raised again, the cause was the death of a sperm whale in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi in November 2018. Researchers found plastic waste in the whale's stomach such as plastic bottles, gallon covers, instant noodle wrappers, plastic bags, and other things which made of plastic. Deputy Chairperson of Aprindo (Indonesian Retail Entrepreneurs Association), Tutum Rahanta, had the opportunity to be interviewed by Tirto.id regarding the issue of plastic bag policy in Indonesia. According to him, to avoid using plastic bags, what we need is a reduction of using plastic things because it cannot be decomposed easily and actually this issue has been conveyed to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The problem is  the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has never issued a master regulation of using plastic bags. This situation has encouraged a  local governments to issue their own regulations.

Several city in Indonesia regarding has their own plastic bag diet regulation such as the City of Bogor named it as the Regulation of the Mayor of Bogor Number 61 of 2018 concerning Reducing Plastic Bags, the City of Balikpapan named it as the Regulation of the Mayor of Balikpapan Number 8 of 2018 concerning Reduction of Plastic Bags, Denpasar City named it as the Regulation of the Mayor of Denpasar Number 36 of 2018 concerning Reduction of Plastic Bags, and Jambi City named it as Jambi Mayor Regulation Number 8 of  2018 concerning Reducing Plastic Bags. These policies is expected to reduce the using of plastic bags, it is also able to provide economic opportunities for producers of bags or shopping bags which made of biodegradable materials used such as patchwork.

The policies regarding paid plastic bags must be continually reviewed for the sake of maximum and beneficial achievement. Therefore, the government must also conduct monitoring and evaluation in order to facilitate the implementation of these policies. Then in one point we need a centered policy so when making policies in each region the government will not deviate too far and must have synergistic coordination with other policies.

The paid plastic bag policy is coercive and imposed on the purchase of plastic bags. However, not a few consumers stated that they did not mind buying plastic bags that were still sold cheaply. And it proves that the effectiveness of the policy only applies to the middle to lower class society, because the upper middle class still chooses to pay for plastic bags to make their work easier. Therefore, a socialization of it is needed in order to create a habit people will always remember to bring reuseable shopping bags from home naturally.

Some things that can be done by the consumers is by always carrying a cloth bag in their bag or in their vehicle when they are traveling. Manufacturers can reduce the production of plastic bags and start making biodegradable bags. And it can be a good strategy if plastic bag manufacturers provide statistics on plastic bag sales that decrease every year, so the producers are given a tax breaks by the government or other relief aimed at appreciating the reduction in plastic bag use. If this is implemented, it will not only reduce the use of plastic bags, but even help government programs in overcoming environmental pollution due to plastic waste.