Jakarta (Greeners) – To tackle waste issues, ministries are prepping up to issue a regulation to charge plastic bags, a senior official said on Thursday in Jakarta.
“We agreed to issue a government regulation on plastic bag levy. If all ministries have reached agreement, it’s a matter of putting into words. Hopefully, it’ll come out this year,” said Director of Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, R. Sudirman, adding that the ministries including Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Industry.
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The plastic bag levy, he said, will be a government regulation on plastic bag as its volume has been increasing three percent to 17 percent in 2017.
“From 17 percent, plastic wastes account for 49 percent. Consequently, the meetings with other ministries have agreed on the levy,” he said.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry aims to reduce 15 percent of waste in 2017. The target increase to 18 percent, 22 percent and 30 percent by 2018, 2020, and 2025, respectively.
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Though waste issues have been covered in the 2012 Government Regulation on Domestic Waste Management, the upcoming regulation will serve as road map on waste management concept in each provinces.
Previously, head of fiscal policy agency, Suahasil Nazara said that government was targeting to receive Rp500 billion this year from the levy.
For the first stage, government will be focusing on plastic bags levy which will be applied on upstream industries based on its degradable levels.
Reports by Dewi Purningsih
21 Apr 2024 
