The whole world is suffering from the worsening ocean plastic crisis. Plastic bottles of different sizes pollute the ocean along with other garbage. Environmentalists in Indonesia want to convince people to reconsider their habits and refrain from using single-use bags and plastic bottle.
Museum of Plastic Bottles
Indonesia celebrated its Marine Debris Festivalby building a museum consisting of 10,000 plastic bottle wastes The outdoor expo in Gresik town of east Java took three months to assemble. These litters also include plastic bags, sachets, and straw collected from polluted beaches and rivers.
Moreover, an eye-catching statue called “Dewi Sri” serves as the centerpiece. Javanese worship her as the Goddess of Prosperity. Her long skirt consists of single-use sachets of household items. The exhibit attracted over 400 visitors since it openened in September.
“We want to send information to the people to stop the use of single-use plastic. These plastics are very difficult to recycle… Starting today, we should stop consuming single-use plastic because it will pollute our ocean, which is also our source of food,” said museum founder Prigi Arisandi.
Plastics pollution is a serious problem in Indonesia, mainly plastic bottle wastes. It ranks second in the world, after China, for huge volumes that end up in oceans. Along with the Philippines and Vietnam, these four countries are accountable for over half of ocean plastics. Indonesia’s struggle to manage the use of plastic packaging gave good results.
Recycling Single-Use Plastic Bottle
Environment does not benefit from disposable or single-use plastics. Recycling these plastics can favor humans, animals, and the planet itself.
Recycling plastic wastes will prevent them from ending up in land fills and cause pollution. It can take hundreds of years for these plastics to decompose. Recycling them will help prevent the slow decomposing process at wasteyards.
Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) initiated on many endeavors. It includes recycling of polystyrene foam and eco-bricks making. The council emphasizes the significance of these activities and established PJ Eco Recycling Plaza in SS8. Also, the recycling plaza makes eco-bricks and purchases them from the public for RM1.
After the pandemic, the recycling procedure will be open for public viewing. Recycled polystyrene will turn into different items, including photo frames or house wall skirts. These synthetic polymers are usually used to pack TV sets. The center prefer to use them because they are cleaner than those discarded from the markets.
The polystyrene boxes should be in smaller pieces because they will go into the melting machine. The melted blocks are then shaped into smaller blocks. Afterward, they are then delivered to corresponding industry’s factories for remolding into other serviceable items. These factories will display and sell the ends products at the plaza after the pandemic is over.
The Concept of Eco-Bricks
According to Malaysia EcoBrickers Community founder Faisal Abdur Rani, the eco-bricks concept started in 2016. Indonesia and the Philippines, which don’t have good waste management, used these eco-bricks. Malaysia, on the other hand, uses them to make garden walls, fences, and tables.
Lee Lih Shyan said that house construction uses this material with different problems because of some regulations. They need to follow these so they can install electricity. Shyan is the director of Petaling Jaya Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Department.
