Campaign says no to plastic, yes to alternatives as trash piles up

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Expatriates and locals concerned about the fast build-up of plastic waste in Bali launched a consumer-level waste reduction initiative this year.

The six-month-old campaign -- "Say No to Plastic" or "Bali Cantik Tanpa Plastic" -- has seen retailers in Ubud start to offer affordable alternatives to plastic shopping bags while educating their customers about the plastic problem.

Bali produces more than 5,000 tons of garbage per day, 30 percent of it solid and 70 percent organic.

Each year garbage output goes up 5 percent according to the Bali Environmental Impact Assessment Agency.

Alex Ryan, behind the waste reduction campaign, said people were frustrated with the way trash keeps piling up.

"What we are trying to do with this campaign is to reduce the amount of waste," she said.

"Plastic is a big problem because it takes so long to break down."

She said it takes between 15 and 1000 years for nature to break down a plastic bag -- which is made of petroleum materials -- and the process creates methane which contributes to global warming.

Some 20 stores in Ubud have joined the campaign. They display no-plastic posters and offer packing alternatives such as reusable cloth bags.

At Juice Ja, a cafe and art shop on Jl. Dewi Sartika in Ubud, the idea has caught on.

The cafe has been able to persuade customers to buy cloth bags to carry home their other purchases. "A lot of the customers are already aware about reducing plastic waste," said one of the staff.

He said the cloth bags with "Say No to Plastic" and "I bring my own bag!" logos were popular even though they cost Rp 20,000 each.

Ryan said her group of eight volunteers had done outreach activities in eleven banjar (traditional neighborhood organizations)in Ubud.

"And the response is very positive."

In September last year, the Bali provincial government launched a similar campaign. Sixteen major supermarkets joined the campaign, with Tiara Dewata becoming the first in Bali to provide shoppers an alternative to plastic.

Supermarkets in countries like Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Germany regularly charge customers for carry bags, instead of giving them away.

The resort island faces major waste management problems, with rivers and mangroves forests becoming unofficial garbage dumps.

Garbage piles up on river banks and chemicals leach into streams. The Suwung Dam area near Sanur and the mangrove forests on the line between Denpasar mayoralty and Badung regency are strewn with garbage, mostly plastics.

Nearby, the city landfill is overflowing with garbage from Denpasar and Badung.

The Bali provincial government is currently building a Rp 10 billion (US$1.10 million) waste management center in Bangklet village, Bangli regency. The five hectare-compound with a capacity of 1,000 cubic meters per day will function as an organic waste recycling center.