A Four-Part Series on Water (Part 1: Riverine Litter in Indonesia)
Introduction
With a population of more than 271 million, Indonesia is struggling to combat riverine litter that is worsening in line with population growth. Riverine litter is often overlooked while the awareness of marine litter is rising. This is despite rivers being the main pathway of land-based marine litter which entails around 80% of the total marine litter. One of the rivers in Indonesia that is in a dire state due to being heavily polluted by litter is the Citarum River. This river located inWest Java, is considered the world’s most polluted river.
The Worsening Riverine Litter
Water pollution was found to be the second environmental issue that Indonesians were concerned about, the first being waste management. These two concerns are related because one form of water pollution is mismanaged waste. However, if these concerns were contrasted with the existing riverine litter condition, their concerns are not aligned with current realities and practices. Rivers in Indonesia are prone to littering by irresponsible communities because their wastes are no longer their concern as they travel away, along the rivers.
Though the current data on the amount of litter entering rivers in Indonesia is unavailable, in 2008, it was estimated to be 600,000 tons. It is, thus, highly likely that the current figure is much higher today.This is evident as the percentage of villages that disposed domestic waste to the aquatic environment including rivers rose 20% from 2014 to 2018. It was also discovered that around 500,000 m3 (an equivalent of 170,000 tons of household waste) of waste enter the Citarum river annually.
Link between Riverine Litter and Public Health
Rivers are a major water resource heavily depended on by Indonesians. Rural communities directly use water resources from rivers for sanitation, agriculture or aquaculture purposes. Meanwhile, the Regional Water Utility Company (PDAM) in Indonesia’s major cities routinely processes huge volumes of water sourced from the river and distributes it to municipal households as tap water.
Though there are limited studies on the link between riverine litter and health, it is likely that such litter can indirectly contribute to public health problems. Of particular concern is how riverine litter perpetuates river flooding and consequently, sanitation problems. Litter that is found at the bottom and the surface of rivers can impede river flow causing water levels to rise. Litter can also clog flood pumps which decreases the pumps’ abilities to extrude flood water.
In February 2021, some areas in Semarang, the capital of Central Java, were hit by river floods due to extreme rainfall. Those exposed to flood waters were found to develop skin diseases. To confound matters, due to the difficulty in maintaining physical distancing in crowded shelters, those who sought assistance faced an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. Officially, the cause of these floods were attributed to clogging by litter. “The litter piles were found on many rivers. Our record from previous years remains the same, it is litter clogging” said Regional Secretary of Semarang Government, Iswar Aminuddin.
Another health threat of riverine litter is microplastics which are formed by the incomplete degradation of larger plastics. There is abundant evidence of the presence of microplastics in river basins and sediments as well as river biota. Microplastics are also found in tap water in Indonesia. This means that litter thrown into the river is finding its way back to its originator. Although Indonesians rarely drink tap water, they may inevitably consume microplastics as their presence has been found in commercial fishes derived from river aquaculture.
Plastic has been proven harmful to the human body. Bisphenols and phthalates, the addictive substances of plastic are able to disrupt the endocrine system. This increases the risk of biological and physiological malfunction. Microplastics can also adsorb hydrophobic hazardous chemicals such as pesticide in the surrounding water, increasing their danger to humans. It is, thus, imperative to prevent the ingestion of microplastics.
The Need for All Stakeholders to be Involved
To address riverine litter, preventing waste from entering rivers is crucial. Currently, there are national regulations on waste management to guide local governments in managing waste. Such national regulations are important as local governments play a strategic role in implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of such efforts on the ground.
The national waste management policy is outlined in the constitutional regulation UU No.18/2008. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MEF) established the PerMenLHK No.10/2018 as the base regulation for local governments to formulate their household waste management policies and strategies. The Ministry of General Works and Public Housing also provided technical guidance to manage household waste management via PerMenPUPR No.3/2013 while the Ministry of Health (MoH) described the Communities-Based Total Sanitation (STBM) program regulated in PerMenkes No.3/2014.
Despite these complete constitutional regulations, its implementation at the regional levels were not conducted equally. Run by only regency/city-scale Environmental or Cleanliness Agencies, household waste management services are only prioritized in urban areas and public places. There are still many settlements including those located on river banks that are not reached by these agencies that facilitate the disposal of wastes to recyclingcenters or landfills. Due to a limited allocated budget for local waste management, the number of waste facilities are also limited and unequally distributed in Indonesia. The unequal distribution of waste facilities leads to weak enforcement as the punishment for littering is not well implemented.
This is evident in Sumedang where Yosep Suhayat, Chief of Sumedang Environmental Agency admitted that the number of municipal waste facilities is limited. Thus, the government cannot blame the communities that improperly dispose of their waste. His statement was in response to the overloaded waste transportation system in his working sites. Bounded by limited budget, his team promised to clean-up the remaining litter in the area.
The authorities responsible in household waste management must also coordinate closely to address this issue. The Environmental Agency should re-evaluate the strategy to maximize the limited waste facilities such as re-setting the waste collection routes, transport site locations and human resources based on settlement layouts developed by the General Works Agency, to effectively manage waste.
Additionally, community-based waste management is proven to be an effective initiative to address the limited household waste management system. Communities have to be responsible for managing their own waste despite the absence of public waste facilities. The Health Agency plays a pivotal role to encourage behavioural changes in communities toward proper waste management, based on the STBM program. Simultaneously, the Environmental Agency facilitates the local waste management strategy and technical procedure.
Some local governments have started regulating limitations on single-used plastics. As plastics are the major waste found in rivers, this regulation effectively reduces the use of single-used plastics, especially plastic bags.
Impeding an effective limitation of plastic, the recycling industry association and the Ministry of Industry stated that such regulations can disrupt the national economy as plastic and rubber contributes nearly IDR 92 trillion (~USD 6.4 billion) to the gross domestic productand employs around 30,000 workers in the plastic bag industry alone.
In 2019, the MEF developed a waste reduction roadmap regulation on PerMenLHK No.75/2019, targeting producers; product manufacturers, food and beverage industries and retails. This is to inculcate a sense of responsibility in these producers and to create a circular economy. It was found that products from various big companies have polluted the river, ranging from; food, personal care and toiletries products.
The regulation encourages producers to re-design and ensurethat their product packaging is biodegradable, reusable or recyclable. Producers are also encouraged to reuse or recycle their waste products. Collectively, these encourage a paradigm shift where waste is only collected, transported and disposed of. Instead, it should also contribute to economic growth. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, waste recycling enterprises are enjoying positive economic growth amidst national economic recession.
This regulation can also address complaints of economic stakeholders as the plastic industry can still operate fully, using the waste as their materials. However, reducing plastic pollution can only be achieved if the regulation is implemented completely and systematically leading to a gradual reduction of demand for virgin plastic as well as escalating demand for recycled plastic. Imperatively, producers must be fully committed to tackling litter pollution as well as create a sustainable system. If this is not yet viable, limiting plastic consumption is still the best option.
Conclusion
Tackling riverine litter as well as mitigating its impact to public health requires strong coordination between local authorities responsible for managing household waste. Communities and producers also play a vital part by being responsible for the waste they produce.
Part 2: Sustainable Water: Lessons from an Indonesian Community Forest in a “Barren Village”
Part 3: Valuing Water through Community Empowerment in Malaysia
Part4: The Inconspicuous Truth of Singapore’s Water: Cleaned rather than Clean
