Emenda Sembiring

While Indonesia is a major contributor to global plastic pollution, national-level data obscures critical local hotspots where mismanagement is most severe. This study presents the comprehensive subdistrict level analysis of plastic waste flows across Indonesia to identify these hotspots and quantify their mismanagement pathways. Using a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) framework combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we analyzed data from the Indonesia National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN), sampling and other governmental sources to model the fate of plastic waste. We estimate that 9.20 ± 1.52 million tonnes (Mt) of plastic waste are generated annually. This study focuses specifically on mismanaged plastic waste (MPW) that can potentially enter the environment and leak to waterways. While open burning is the largest single pathway (5.15 ± 0.68 Mt), this analysis concentrates on the 1.16 million tonnes that potentially leak into the environment. This includes 0.64 ± 0.11 Mt disposed directly into rivers and drains and 0.52 ± 0.09 Mt disposed illegally onto land. The analysis also reveals the critical role of the informal sector, which recovers four times more plastic than formal facilities (12% vs. 3%).

Collecting samples of waste generation is essential for designing effective waste management strategies. Conducting waste generation sampling over a week or an 8-day period needs substantial demands on resources. The resource-intensive nature of extended sampling periods is notable. Shortening sampling days is beneficial and perhaps can also be cost effective. Cost-effective means reducing resource demands while maintaining the accuracy and reliability of waste generation data. The solid waste generation sampling data from two sub-districts both in Banyuwangi Regency and in Jembrana Regency, Indonesia were used for data source. Normality test and ANOVA (analysis of variance), followed by Tukey's post hoc analysis was utilized to analyze the variability among sampling duration, weekdays and weekend, and seasonal change. The generation of household wastes appears consistent in patterns over 4 or 8 days, irrespective of the sampling days falling on weekdays or weekends. When comparing the rainy and dry seasons, it was observed that only one sub-district in Muncar exhibited a statistically significant difference in waste generation. The remaining locations demonstrate no substantial statistical variation between the two seasons. This suggests a level of uniformity in waste generation across different time periods and seasonal condition, with Muncar being the sole exception.

Achieving the mainstream adoption of circular packaging is essential for mitigating the environmental impacts of plastic waste. Its widespread adoption, however, remains hindered by significant user barriers. This study investigates the barriers to user adoption of upstream packaging solutions in Indonesia with the aim of reducing plastic packaging waste. Through a mixed-methods approach including case studies, expert workshops, and focus group discussions, nine key barriers were identified and analysed. These include inconvenience, resistance to changing habits and behaviours, higher costs and deposit schemes, contamination and hygiene concerns, wear and tear, functional and performance limitations, a lack of awareness about the environmental impacts, limited availability and variety, and a lack of trust. This research advances the literature by offering a detailed analysis of these barriers, categorising them into sociocultural, economic, contextual, and regulatory aspects. Additionally, barriers specific to Indonesia were identified such as a shift from being served to self-service refilling, some people not having smartphones, poor cellular signals in rural areas, a preference for plastic packaging due to its resale value, and a preference for cash payments due to limited access to credit or bank cards. The findings highlight the need for tailored, multidisciplinary strategies to overcome these barriers and promote the adoption of circular packaging solutions. This research provides valuable insights for researchers studying circular design, businesses seeking to innovate upstream packaging solutions, and policymakers aiming to develop regulations that support the adoption of circular packaging practices.

A landfill is the most common waste disposal in Indonesia, yet the implementation and operation of landfills are still far from optimal due to lack of funding and management failure. Moreover, landfill was operated as unmanaged open dumps. This situation could enhance the likelihood of plastics pollution through various transport of plastic waste from landfill sites, including microplastics release from leachate. This study was focused on the evidence of microplastic pollution originating from the landfill. Leachate sampling was conducted at two landfills, an inactive landfill called Leuwigajah Landfill, and an active landfill called Sarimukti Landfill. The characteristics of microplastics were analyzed through visual examination, particle density examination, and polymer investigation utilizing Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). All three samples of active and inactive landfill leachate contains microplastic particles. The concentration ranges from 12.00 ± 5.29 to 56.33 ± 3.06 particles/liter. The most dominant polymers of plastic are Polypropylene (PP) and Polyester. Fiber shape is the highest percentage of founded microplastics. The results show the critical information of landfill likelihood as a source of microplastics.

Microplastics have been commonly found in wastewater, especially from laundry waste and wastewater treatment. Efforts to prevent microplastics in domestic washing activities are important so that microplastics can be removed from the source. The washing machine filters can collect most of the microplastic fibers before the water reaches the WWTP. The research carried out aimed to determine the effect of washing machine spin speed, operation time, and the intensity of repeated washing of textile materials on the microplastics released during the washing process as well as the influence of filter cloth porosity, operation time, and the intensity of repeated washing of textile materials on the filter cloth's ability in the filtering process of microplastic. There are three main stages in this research, the preparation stage, the research stage which consists of running the reactor to identify microplastics released during the washing process, running the reactor to determine the ability of the filter cloth to filter microplastics, and identifying microplastics. The data generated from the test is analyzed using a regression multiple linear. The results of identifying the amount of microplastic released from all samples had an average concentration of 281.24 particles/L and the average amount of microplastic filtered by the filter cloth was 78.8 mg/cycle. Spin speed, operation time, and washing repetition intensity simultaneously influence the released microplastics by 93.5%. The size of the filter cloth mesh, operation time, and the intensity of repeated washing simultaneously influence the filtered microplastics by 86.4%.

The majority of developing nations still utilize landfills as their primary method of disposing of municipal solid waste (MSW), and Indonesia is no exception to this technology. On the other hand, landfill contributes a significant fraction of plastic in the global environmental leakage from mismanaged landfill and open dumping site in Asian countries. Furthermore, Indonesia has a long history of landfill mismanagement and open dumping. The loss of plastic to the environment could lead to multisectoral impacts on the health, environment, and economy. In this paper, we analyze the current situation of landfill and the potential of plastic waste leakage from landfills to the environment using systematic review and metadata analysis using GIS in Indonesia. In addition, this study analyses potential plastic leakage based on the distance to the waterways, leachate treatment facility and landfill facility. Based on the analysis, only around 11% of the landfill were claimed as sanitary landfill, yet only 3% operated based on the sanitary landfill standard of Indonesia after the analysis. The controlled landfill is also implemented in Indonesia at around 52%, and open dumping is around 37% of total final disposal. Based on the GIS analysis, more than 20% of landfill in Indonesia are near the waterways, which increase the potential for plastic leakage. Policymakers can use the resulting study to identify and prioritise ways to stop the environmental leakage of plastics from landfills.