37 percent of sea waste is plastic

Plastic waste is the most dangerous as it has entered the food chain.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PROBOLINGGO — Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) said as many as 1.2 million tons of waste polluting the sea in Indonesia. Around 37 percent of the waste are plastics, which could not easily be decomposed.

Ministry of Environment and Forestry director general of coastal and marine pollution control, MR Karliansyah explained marine waste has became a world problem. He said plastic is the most dangerous because it has entered the food chain.

"A lot of fishes in the sea were found to have eaten plastics,” said on the sidelines of the "Coastal Clean Up" program to commemorate Environmental Day at Binor Beach, in Probolinggo, East Java on Tuesday (Sept 25).

Karliansyah said the findings were based on the results of a survey conducted by Ministry of Environment and Forestry in October 2017 in 18 districts / cities that have territorial waters or beaches in Indonesia. The survey was far from what French researchers said that Indonesia is the second largest country in the world with the waste in the sea.

“The findings denied it. Indonesia’s condition is still quite good, even though there is plastic waste," Karliansyah added.

The source of waste in the sea, he said, is divided into two, namely around 50-70 percent from the land and the rest from the ocean itself. From the sea such as from ships and some transportation that passed through the ocean.

Also read: Increasing plastic waste raises concern: Kehati

"We will continue to evaluate, in order to have data in two consecutive years, and to achieve the government's target in 2025 Indonesia is free of plastic waste," Karliansyah said.

Karliansyah expected that the efforts to clean the beach carried out on Binor Beach can continue to be carried out by the community. This is also expected to become a routine activity to reduce the presence of garbage in the sea while building awareness of the importance of the sea for life.

"Indonesia's future is in our hands, this beach clean-up activity can be a routine behavior for every person, because this is not only for today but for the future," he said.

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