The Indonesian government is currently preparing a regulation to encourage fishing boats and sightseeing ships to manage garbage, including plastic waste, in a bid to curb pollution at sea.

"We affirm and strengthen law enforcement for the existing regulation. Ships for fishing and tourism purposes are obligated to have trash cans," Deputy of Human Resources, Maritime Technology, and Culture of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs Safri Burhanuddin stated after delivering a speech at the East Asia Conference for combating plastic waste h

eld in Kuta, Badung District, Bali, on Wednesday.

According to Burhanuddin, one of the sources of plastic waste came from both small and large fishing and sightseeing ships.

Currently, the regulation is being formulated by the relevant agencies and is targeted to be completed in October 2017 in the form of a presidential regulation.

Based on the regulation being established, he said notification letters will be issued and addressed to the technical ministries and local governments in order to necessitate every ship to be able to manage its waste, especially plastic garbage.

"When the ships return to land, they have to bring their garbage home. If they do not follow the procedure, then it implies they might have thrown their garbage into the sea," he said.

He stated that Indonesia is committed to reducing 70 percent of its plastic waste at sea before 2025. Hence, cooperation among all parties, including from within and abroad, needs to be encouraged.

He said education is one of the key ways to encouraging the public to take care of the environment by at least reducing or managing plastic waste, as 80 percent of it came from the mainland.

"Most of the waste in the ocean is brought by the river. Hence, district and city governments need to control waste on land," he remarked.

He lauded the various parties, including business players in Indonesia, that have applied waste management and recycled garbage into high-value products.

The government is also promoting a policy of converting waste into a source of energy.

Currently, 15 cities in Indonesia, including Denpasar, Bali, are participating in a study to manage plastic waste at sea, including the use of asphalt in a road construction project at the Udayana University.

Source: ANTARA