I once sat down with a group of environmentalists and we
calculated that if each of Bali’s 4 million residents
threw away one plastic bag a day (a conservative estimate),
then 120 million bags are being disposed up every month. My
calculator screen isn’t long enough to give you the
annual tally, but it’s mind- boggling. Even more boggling
is the job of helping people understand that they as individuals
can make a difference to Bali’s polluted environment.
Recently I bought a bottle of Aqua in Denpasar, and refused
the plastic bag I was offered. “Plastik tidak bagus
untuk alami,” I smiled. “Kenapa?” asked
the young girl who was minding the store with a puzzled look.
If a teenager is still unaware that plastic is a serious environmental
issue in 2007, then a great deal of community education remains
to be done.
Small initiatives continue around the island, with the result
that some communities are noticeably cleaner than others.
Until now Ubud has not been among them, but on June 10 2007,
the Ubud local community hosted the “Say No to Plastic!/
Bali Cantik Tanpa Plastik” community clean up and campaign
launch. The launch is the first phase of a campaign to reduce
plastic waste on Bali through the implementation of waste
reduction and prevention initiatives. One way the campaign
aims to do this is by providing a low-cost reusable cloth
shopping bag as an alternative to plastic bags. The cheerful
green shopping bag was launched at the event.
By 8 in the morning an energetic community cleanup was already
underway. Local schools were the biggest group in attendance,
with over 1000 students participating from four local schools:
one primary, one senior and two junior and high schools.
With help from LKMD (the Village Social Activity Group) and
several Ubud Banjar Heads, participants were allocated collection
bags and clean up areas, and sent on their way. About 1500
people across Ubud picked up plastic from the streets and
football field. Two hundred reusable rubbish bags were loaned
by ABC recycling and they also kindly supported the collection,
sorting and processing of the waste.
Besides the general clean up which was run out of the Wantilan,
several Banjars including Junjungan, Ubud Kaja and Tegalantang
ran their own clean up activities, coordinating waste collection
with the campaign team.
According to campaign coordinators Pak Darta and Alex Ryan,
the clean up collected over 4 truckloads of waste. Although
waste management isn’t the focus of the campaign, the
group chose this activity to highlight the problem of plastic
waste in Bali.
“By collecting truckloads of plastic waste, we were
able to highlight the massive problems that plastic bags create
across Bali and Indonesia, and begin a conversation in the
community about the need to reduce our consumption of these
problematic and often unnecessary consumer items,” said
Ms. Ryan. “Unlike organic waste, plastic doesn’t
decompose in the environment. If it’s not recycled or
reused, it ends up as landfill or in our waterways and oceans.”
This is all too evident in Bali, where plastic waste litters
the roadsides, rivers and beaches every day of the year. It
is the biggest complaint of tourists, who are shocked to find
the Island of the Gods littered with garbage.
A short interactive presentation on plastic in the environment
was made to the students of SD Negeri 1, and prizes were awarded
to the best waste collector. The event concluded with speeches
from Pak Darta of Ubud Kelod, the Head of Gianyar Tourism
Agency Bapak Dewa Nyoman Alit Arinatha and the Ubud Village
Chief, Bapak Made Wartana.
The focus of the event was the formal launch of the group’s
reusable shopping bag. The bags come in two designs -- a boutique
bag suitable for retail business, and a heavy duty shopping
bag designed for grocery shopping. Made from unbleached cotton
calico with the campaign logo in Indonesian and English on
either side, the bags are both functional and affordable (Rp.
10,000 and Rp. 13,000 respectively). They bear a cool and
pertinent message in two languages – “I bring
my own bag”, with a neat leaf design in the centre.
Sponsors of the campaign have the option of including their
business logo on one side of the bag. The group aims to make
these reusable cloth bags widely available to businesses throughout
Bali, starting with Ubud.
Reusable shopping bags aren’t a new thing. Ireland succeeded
in reducing its consumption of plastic bags by 90% after it
introduced a levy on plastic bags in 2002. Many states and
cities around the world have introduced similar initiatives
such as taxes and bans on plastic bags, with similar stories
of success. Australians managed to reduce their plastic bag
consumption by two billion bags annually over a period of
five years after the renowned polypropylene ‘Green Bag’
was introduced on a wide scale at major supermarket chains
across the country. In South Africa, Rwanda, Bangladesh and
parts of India, plastic bags are banned after being blamed
for clogging waterways, ruining rice fields and setting off
fatal floods and landslides during monsoons.
The “Say No To Plastic!” campaign aims to generate
a consumer groundswell that will lead to much-needed changes
in the way goods are delivered. “By providing a low-cost
alternative for consumers in Bali, we hope to have a major
impact on the number of plastic bags used annually in Bali,”
explained Ms. Ryan. “We’re trying to effect a
behavioral change whereby shoppers become accustomed to bringing
their own bag prior to leaving the home.”
As well as developing relations with retailers across the
island, the campaign will continue to work with communities
in Ubud at the Banjar level in waste education, awareness
and prevention. “Our message is simple”, said
Pak Darta. “Bring your own bag and help reduce plastic
waste!”
On the day of the campaign launch, the group distributed 150
bags to local community members. The next phase of the campaign
will see further work with the Ubud community via women’s
and village organizations. The campaign will continue to work
with businesses and communities throughout Bali to make the
vision of a cleaner, greener Bali a reality.
The event was sponsored by local Ubud businesses including
Bali Buddha, Maya Ubud Resort & Spa, Alila Hotel, Threads
of Life, Big Tree Farms, KAFE, The Chedi Club, World on a
String and Ubud Organic Markets.
For more information or to enquire about making a contribution
to the campaign or ordering reusable bags, contact: saynotoplastics@gmail.com
or call 0813 3700 4598.
