Enviu Indonesia Joins Pisces Partnership: Launching Pisces Relay to Combat Plastic Waste

Over the past few decades, daily necessities such as coffee, spices, soap and shampoo have been sold in plastic sachet packaging to meet the purchasing power of consumers, especially those with low incomes.

However, this practice has led to a substantial waste problem, as these sachets are non-recyclable and even difficult to collect, exacerbating environmental problems.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) revealed that in 2021, the volume of waste in Indonesia was only 7 percent recycled and 69 percent entered the landfill. In the same year, Indonesia was declared a global contributor to plastic pollution. Appropriate handling is needed in Indonesia to deal with this plastic problem.

Therefore, in order to achieve the target of reducing marine waste by 70% by 2025, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment has collaborated with the Plastics in Societies Partnership (Pisces) in an applied research collaboration that emphasizes a systems approach to solving the waste problem in Indonesia.

One of the strategies is through the development of a “Living Lab” as a medium for formulating and testing a holistic approach involving various disciplines to support plastic waste management policies in Indonesia.

The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment together with Pisces launched the “Pisces Relay” program at the Pisces Living Lab Office, Rogojampi, Banyuwangi, East Java for a study of consumer behavior towards reusable products, Wednesday (21/2/2024).

"Handling this plastic problem must be done collaboratively, and now we must focus on handling the system from upstream, namely from reduction, and in this plastic issue, it is very important for packaging not to be used only once, and to support the practice of "reuse" so that packaging can be used several times,'' said Rendra Kurnia Hasan, SH, M.Env, coordinator of Waste Management from the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, who was also present at the launch of Pisces Relay.

According to Rendra, the government also provides a regulatory basis so that it can support and accelerate other agencies such as producers, communities, and others to be able to implement environmentally friendly consumption practices.

Pisces Partnership is a collaborative platform initiated by a group of academic institutions from the UK, collaborating with academics from around the world and specifically in Indonesia, bringing together academic researchers, businesses, governments, NGOs and civil society, working towards a sustainable future for plastics in Indonesian society.

The first Living Lab has been established in Banyuwangi Regency and is expected to create new paradigms and solutions in reducing and handling single-use plastic through changes in the entire plastic value chain starting from producers, retailers, communities, and other stakeholders related to plastic waste management.

Joining the Pisces Partnership is Enviu, a circular economy builder startup that has been operating in Indonesia since 2019, actively participating in this initiative.

In 2024, Pisces, in partnership with Enviu, will expand its efforts by piloting a reuse solution in the Banyuwangi area. The six-month pilot project aims to explore the feasibility of implementing circular economy practices to prevent plastic waste at the source.

The practice being piloted is based on Alner, an innovative startup built by Enviu and founded by Bintang Ekananda.

Alner has introduced an innovative deposit-refund business model for everyday household needs in an effort to combat the growing plastic pollution crisis in Indonesia.

Inisiatif ini bertujuan untuk mengatasi masalah lingkungan yang ditimbulkan oleh plastik sekali pakai dan mempromosikan ekonomi sirkular.

“Kami percaya bahwa kolaborasi antara peneliti akademis dan pihak-pihak yang melakukan tindakan, melalui kemitraan akademis publik dan swasta, seperti Pisces, sangat penting untuk mendorong dan mempercepat implementasi perubahan sistemik yang diperlukan untuk mencegah polusi plastik,” ungkap Professor Susan Jobling, Direktur PISCES Partnership, dari Brunel University, London, Inggris Raya.

Studi pilot ini akan mencoba skema guna ulang di warung lokal dengan menjual produk-produk sembako dengan kemasan guna ulang selama tiga bulan, untuk menyaksikan dan mempelajari secara langsung kontribusi proyek pilot terhadap pengurangan sampah plastik.

Inisiatif ini menandai awal perjalanan menuju pencegahan sampah plastik pada sumbernya dan mendorong praktik ekonomi sirkular di Banyuwangi. Bersama para mitra, Pisces Partnership berharap pengembangan proyek ini mampu menciptakan dampak positif terhadap lingkungan dan masyarakat.

Asisten Pemerintahan dan Kesejahteraan Rakyat Sekda Kabupaten Banyuwangi, Drs. H. Arief Setiawan, MM, menyatakan pemahaman tentang praktik ramah lingkungan dan pengolahan sampah plastik ini penting untuk disosialisasikan di masyarakat sebagai bagian dari keseharian.

''Program Pisces ini sejalan dan dapat mendukung program Pemerintah Banyuwangi yang memang ingin meningkatkan kepedulian dan meningkatkan manajemen sampah plastik yang berfokus dengan pengembangan kawasan pariwisata," kata Arief.