Single-Use Plastics Ban in Indonesia: Evidence of the Implementation of Waste Management Act

 The upsurge of bans of single-use plastics in Indonesia, such as plastic bags, is proof that Indonesia is able to overcome its plastic pollution problem. After Dr. Jenna Jambeck’s research publication in the journal Science in 2015 which mentions Indonesia as the second largest marine plastic polluter in the world, Indonesia has made several assertive initiatives, including plastic bag bans in several localities, such as Banjarmasin City, Balikpapan City, Bogor City, and Bali Province.
The Bali Governor Regulation and Bogor Mayor Regulation about plastic ban is currently being brought to the Supreme Court for a judicial review by the plastic industry and plastic recycling industry, on the basis that the ban does not legally align with the Waste Management Act. That basis has been denied by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
“The principle is like this, in the Waste Management Act No. 18 of 2008, ‘waste management’ is classified as ‘waste reduction’ and ‘waste handling.’ Waste reduction consists of waste limitation, waste reuse, and waste recycling. Several localities such as Bali Province, Banjarmasin City, Balikpapan City, and others have implemented a limitation policy on single-use plastic bag waste by not providing single-use plastic bags in modern retail stores, Banjarmasin’s policy has even entered traditional markets. Philosophically, in the Waste Management Act, the highest hierarchy in waste management is prevention or limitation of waste generation,” said Novrizal Tahar, Director of Waste Management, Directorate General of Waste and Toxic Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).
A coalition of several non-government organizations, environmental law experts and human rights experts support KLHK’s position. The coalition includes the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL), Perkumpulan Pembina Hukum Lingkungan Indonesia (PPLHI), Pusat Studi Hukum dan Kebijakan Indonesia (PSHK), Amnesty International, Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik, and other environmental law experts. This coalition has filed an amici curiae document to the Supreme Court, containing academic reasoning from a legal perspective on the alignment of local single-use plastics bans to the Waste Management Act, Legal Drafting Act, and Human Rights Act.
Seen from a legal perspective, other than the Waste Management Act, the limitation of waste generation is also supported by several regulations.
“The Waste Management Act (UUPS), seen from both its Academic Brief which serves as its background as well as the Government Regulation No. 81 of 2012 which serves as its derivative, supports the existence of regulations that oblige the avoidance or prevention of single-use items and packaging. Fundamentally, whatever the title, be it reduction, ban or cessation, as long as the purpose is to avoid or prevent the usage of single-use plastics, then that regulation is still in alignment with the Waste Management Act’s aim to limit waste generation.”, said Raynaldo Sembiring, S.H. Researcher at Indonesian Center for Environmental Law.
One of the things being protested by the plastic waste recycling industry to the Bali Province Government is the relevance of Protection and Management of the Environment Act No. 32 of 2009 (UUPPLH) as the legal basis of Article 7 and Article 9 paragraph (1) of Bali Governor Regulation No. 97 of 2018. Nevertheless, UUPPLH does not contain the terminology of waste as “sampah”. It only contains the terminology of waste as “limbah”, and emphasizes limbah as the cause of environmental pollution and/or destruction. The meaning of sampah and limbah are different, both from its legal definition as well as its legal regime.
“Localities have the authority to regulate single-use plastics ban in locality head regulations under certain terms and conditions. The Waste Management Act gives a delegation to localities to regulate the management of household waste and similar-to-household waste with local regulations. The Bali Government Regulation is a further description of the obligatory norm in the Waste Management Act and the Bali Local Regulation on Waste,” said Dr. Muhamad Ramdan Andri Gunawan Wibisana, S.H., LL.M., Lecturer at Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia.
The Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, disagrees with the association of the single-use plastics ban to a violation of the right of waste pickers and recyclers to a decent living.
“The ones filing a judicial review are industries and corporations. What affects the ups and downs of corporation income is market dynamics. Therefore, it is not a part of the human rights principle that must be guaranteed by the state. I see the single-use plastics ban as the manifestation of the state’s obligation to guarantee the right to a good and healthy environment.”, said Usman Hamid.

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