Goodbye plastic bags, hello boxes, reusables

Anisa Basuki and Mariani Dewi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 11/05/2008 10:29 AM  

Replacing plastic bags with reusable bags is an ascendant trend nowadays, but some enterprising companies are turning to used cardboard boxes in their quest to be "greener". 

"We offer the cardboard boxes to customers who buy in bulk. It's easier for them to carry and saves on plastic bags. The customers also don't have to pay to be green," Lany Budianto, executive director of supermarket chain PT Lion Super Indo, said Tuesday. 

If customers find the boxes too unfashionable though, there is an alternative. More presentable reusable plastic bags, made of woven polyethylene, are offered for Rp 10,000 at every branch. 

"We hope the customers come back with their own bags so they no longer need to use normal plastic bags," Lany said. 

This practice is being taken up by other stores, including the Body Shop, Carrefour and Aksara. 

Aksara's own canvas bags have become fashion statements in their own right, sought after mostly by students. 

Asking customers if they would like to use a bag helps reduce the amount of plastic used by alerting customers to the choice they have to make. 

The volume of plastic waste has risen in recent years. There are around 700 tons of plastic waste in Jakarta alone, half of which are left untreated. Plastic bags are a ubiquitous sight in the city's trash heaps and rivers. 

However, Lany said, educating customers was not easy. 

"We realize it will take some time to accustom them to the reusable bags. But we believe the small steps we're taking will lead to bigger ones," she said. 

Super Indo also plans to stop using styrofoam in its outlets in future. Processing of organic waste is on their agenda too. 

"I think to make the programs work, we need to cooperate with the government to stop the production of plastic bags," she said. 

Ujang Salihin Siddiq, an official at the State Ministry for the Environment, said that in 2000, organic waste in big cities accounted for 70 percent of total waste. But today, he said, that figure was declining. 

"In Bandung and Surabaya, the proportion of organic waste is only 50 percent. This proves that almost all garbage in Indonesia is plastic and other non-decomposing materials," he said. 

He said he hoped the law on garbage management would be put into practice by early 2009. 

"The law applies to all retailers. They have to perform the 3Rs -- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle -- and there will be a limit on plastic production," he said.