APRU on The Jakarta Post: A Mounting Battle that Starts at Home
October 18, 2021
01

Original post on The Jakarta Post

Both at home and abroad, plastic waste is a mounting problem that is not going to disappear on its own. The United Nations estimates that 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean worldwide each year, with Indonesia contributing upward of 600,000 tons of marine plastic pollution according to the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. These levels are reported to make Indonesia the second largest marine plastic polluter after China.

If this continues unchecked, the problem will only continue getting worse, especially during a pandemic where we rely on single-use plastic items such as takeaway cutlery and essential personal protective equipment gear like masks and gloves.

There is no doubt the pandemic places huge pressure on waste infrastructure. According to UNEP, medical waste in the form of disposed COVID-19 tests and IV bags in Jakarta has risen by a staggering 500 percent, far outstripping the capacity to incinerate or sterilize it as required by law.

Other Asian cities have reported similar spikes in plastic waste. While the Indonesian government has stated goals to triple the nation’s capacity to collect plastic waste by 2030, local leaders can – and must – take initiative to battle this growing crisis on the municipal level now.

As highlighted by key members of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Sustainable Waste Management Program including program director Yong Sik Ok of Korea University and Tsinghua University’s  Xiaonan Wang, closing the plastic loop rests urgently on the collaboration of governments, researchers and industries toward intelligent design.

So how do we begin on the local level? Knowledge sharing is an essential way forward and there are different lessons that can be learned from our neighboring peers. Through the Asia Pacific Mayor’s Academy organized by 6 collaborators including APRU and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), leaders from different cities across the region came together to discuss urban challenges and share solutions that may be applicable to different scenarios. The stories of a plethora of cities rebounding during unprecedented times sheds light on emerging possibilities to rebuild.

Looking toward the Philippines in Ormoc city, multi-stakeholder engagement from different levels of government and the private sector along with NGOs and the public was a key to alleviating the city’s significant waste management issues. The implementation of a more integrated solid waste management system and single-use plastic products regulations ordinance was supplemented with complementary measures such as projects aimed at tackling marine waste to support healthy oceans.

Besides launching new programs and engaging stakeholders, Ormoc has also emphasized smart green technology while looking out for new financing mechanisms that can supply the capital needed to fund the city’s burgeoning sustainability programs.

Not only is this positively impacting the plastic waste problem, the multifaceted approach is driving a holistic Resilient and Green Recovery Plan focused on realizing a circular economy. This not only creates better livelihoods and standards of living for locals today with a cleaner and more efficient city, the new green infrastructure is seen as a way to help safeguard the city moving forward and secure its longevity.

With clearly articulated objectives by the Ormoc mayor’s office, different parties across a range of industries can better understand how to progress their businesses while moving cohesively toward common goals that better society.

An example of how industries have been forced to innovate in the wake of COVID-19 while tackling the rising plastic issue can be found in Koh Tao, Thailand. As tourism declined drastically during the pandemic, the island’s dive boats and tour operators lost the lifeblood of their businesses. To assist people seeking work, Koh Tao was able to secure funding that put people from the tourism and transport industries cleaning up the island.

In addition to cleaning up marine waste while giving people an income during the height of the pandemic, the program also provided life skills with financial literacy training from company sponsors. This temporary measure is just one solid example of how a cleverly designed initiative can fulfill a variety of needs during a time of need.

But while it’s important to tackle immediate problems (such as unemployment), it is also essential to focus on not just restoring the status quo, but doing so in a forward looking manner. Koh Tao leveraged the forced absence of tourists as an overdue opportunity to explore how best to implement a “Smart Island” sustainable tourism model.

By factoring environmental impact more prominently into their operations, Koh Tao is forging a path that better manages natural resources and protects biodiversity while providing economic opportunities and stability to its citizens. For an economy that heavily depends on tourism, there was tremendous wherewithal and leadership needed to evaluate how to keep families afloat while also rebooting and rebuilding the economy with a more resilient and sustainable model.

With Indonesia taking strides to address plastic waste with ambitious measures, it’s clear that there must be great participation and education across all levels of society and a wave of innovative solutions.

There are reasons for optimism. It’s been reported that the Environment and Forestry Ministry has recently pushed producers to upcycle and repurpose waste raw material from trash banks into useful items. Such actions can go a long way towards realizing better waste management in a greener circular economy.

Related Articles
The University of Hong Kong hosts APRU Presidents’ Meeting on Sustainable Future Solutions
more
Keio University News: Keio University Launches 2023 Mentoring Program to Promote Female Faculty Member Empowerment and Leadership
more
APWiL Third Cohort & Professor Freshwater as new APWiL Presidential Champion
more
Country Workshop Aims to Turn AI Research Results into Actionable Public Policy
more
Global Climate Change Simulation Offers USC Students New Perspectives on Worldwide Fight
more
UO Students Co-host APRU Global Climate Change Simulation
more
World BOSAI Forum 2023 facilitates forward-looking visits to Japanese APRU members
more
UP News: UP participates in APWiL Mentoring Program 2022
more
APRU on Bloomberg: The next stage: APRU-Google-UN ESCAP AI for Social Good Project now working directly with government agencies
more
UMelbourne News: An international focus on Indigenous knowledge
more
Tec News: APRU universities meet in San Cristóbal de las Casas to hold dialog on indigenous knowledge in the Pacific Rim
more
APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Conference Helps Shifting Toward Well-prepared and Resilient Urban Societies
more
The APRU Climate Change Simulation- Preparing Students to Lobby Leaders for Vital Actions
more
APRU MetaGame Conference 2022 Successfully Concludes in Hong Kong With Academics Pushing New Ideas on the Application of Esports in Education
more
Students from Tongji School of Medicine Enrolled in the Top 10 Entries of the APRU Global Health Virtual Case Competition 2022
more
APRU Brings Universities into the World of Esports with MetaGame Conference 2022
more
CUHK Biologists Unveil the Genetic Histories of Centipedes and Millipedes to Contribute to Studies of Biodiversity and Ecology
more
APRU Steering Committee 2022-2023
more
APRU ends pandemic hiatus with first physical meeting at NTU Singapore and highlights urgency to collaborate through international university networks
more
APRU Readies for Looming Book Launch with Springer on Safety and Resilience of Higher Educational Institutions
more
APRU on Bloomberg: APRU Readies for Looming Book Launch with Springer on Safety and Resilience of Higher Educational Institutions
more
APRU on The Fiji Times: FNU Students Join Global Climate Change Simulation
more
APRU Global Sustainability: Waste & The City Seminar Course Helps Graduate Students Shape Green Leadership Concepts
more
Tec News: Tec Professors, in a Global Mentoring Project for Women
more
APRU on SJTU News: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Successfully Held the "Resilient Urban Landscape – APRU SCL Webinar & Landscape Architects’Forum"
more
APRU on Bloomberg: APRU Launches The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Cities and Landscapes in the Pacific Rim
more
UBC News: 2 UBC Esports undergrads win industry research scholarships
more
APEC Healthy Women Healthy Economy Prize Accepting Applications 2022
more
APRU on UNESCO News: New report “Moving minds: Opportunities and challenges for virtual student mobility in a post-pandemic world”
more
APRU on AP, AFP, Yahoo! Finance, Morningstar, BusinessWire, NBC & FOX channels, NHA & 200+ pieces of coverage: APRU launches The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Cities and Landscapes in the Pacific Rim
more
APRU on SCMP: Covid-19 wrecks exchange programme plans, as record low number of Hong Kong university students went overseas in last academic year
more
APRU on HKMB: Digital games exercise minds
more
UCLA News: Building the foundation — and networks — needed to diversify university leadership
more
UC Davis News: APRU, UC Davis and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Launch Second Cohort of Asia-Pacific Women in Leadership Mentoring Program
more
APRU on Nikkei: COVID has made a bad situation worse for women academics
more
APRU on SCMP: Virtual foreign exchange allowing students to ‘study abroad’ without leaving home will outlast Covid-19
more
UH News: Esports fellowship creates global opportunities for UH students
more
APRU Metagame Conference 2021 Returns at Cyberport’s Annual Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum
more
Times Higher Education Awards Asia 2021: winners announced
more
APRU Steering Committee 2021-22
more
The 16TH APRU Multi-Hazards Symposium 2021: Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Disaster Resilience
more
APRU Celebrates Successful Completion of Its APWiL Mentoring Program’s First Cohort
more
New APRU Member – Tongji University
more
APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation Tackling Climate Change Head-On
more
APRU on SCMP: Banning Plastic Cutlery Is Only One Part of Hong Kong’s Sustainability Challenge
more
New APRU member - Simon Fraser University
more
APRU on UWN: Long way to go for parity for women in HE leadership
more
APRU on World Economic Forum: Universities can be 'living labs' for sustainability
more
APRU on Associated Press: APRU partners with United Nations ESCAP on The Asia Pacific Mayors Academy to Empower Mayors as Regional Leaders for Sustainability with Training Tailored to Unique Urban Challenges for a More Resilient Future
more
Asia Summit: ‘penalty systems’ and ‘male allies’ address gender gap
more
Cyberport Brings Together Hong Kong and Pacific Rim Youth for Esports Exchange
more
YESPORTS ESPORTS APPRENTICESHIP Recipient Announced
more
4th SCL Conference mastered shift from face-to-face to virtual, new survey shows
more
APRU on JUMPSTART: How Esports Fellowships Can Pave the Way for A Stable, Ethical, Diverse Industry
more
Good-bye 2020, Welcome 2021!
more
APRU Launches the First Global Inter-University Esports Conference and Fellowship Program
more
APRU Quarantunes Competition Connects and Uplifts Student Communities through Music, Boosting Spirits during Ongoing Pandemic
more
Civic Resilience and the COVID-19 Crisis (Part 2 of 2)
more
Civic Resilience and the COVID-19 Crisis (Part 1 of 2)
more
TEC News: Song of Tec students wins 1st place among universities worldwide
more
Quarantunes Student Music Competition
more
Collaboration, technology and global health policy
more
Asia-Pacific Mayors Academy concludes first cohort
more
New Member Spotlight: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
more
New Member Spotlight: Universidad San Francisco de Quito
more
APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Experts Develop Curricula for Asia Pacific Mayors’ Academy
more
Upgrade needed for universities’ workplace wellness programs, new APRU survey shows
more
UNU-IAS and Partners Launch Asia-Pacific Mayors Academy
more
Cities and Refugees – 2019 Global Student Design Ideas Competition
more
Sustainable Urban Development Mayors Fellowship
more
APRU Inaugural Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Design Field School
more
APRU at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
more
APRU-IRIDeS Multi-Hazards Summer School 2014 Report is out now
more
2nd Multi-Hazards Summer School 2014
more
9th Multi-Hazards Symposium 2013
more
Partnering for a less hazardous planet: Interview with Professor John Rundle
more
1
76