IGES Japan praises Banjarmasin's success in reducing plastic waste

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) based in Japan commended the city of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, for its sucess in reducing plastic bag waste.


The IGES Sustainable Cities Programme Manager Shom Teoh, when visiting the City Hall of Banjarmasin, Monday (Feb 3, 2020) said, she was coming to see first hand the progress of Banjarmasin in handling the plastic bag waste.

The city, she said, has become the representative of Indonesia in ASEAN for its success in decreasing the use of plastic bag. Thus it was advanced in protecting the environment.

She praised Banjarmasin's success for totally reducing plastic bag from shops and modern markets, even it has begun to work on traditional markets.

"This is an extraordinary effort. The city should be a pilot, even in the world," Shom Teoh stated.

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IGES was established in March 1998 under the initiative of the Japanese government with the support of Kanagawa Prefecture based on the “Charter for the Establishment of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies”. The aim was to achieve a new paradigm for civilization and conduct innovative policy development and strategic research for environmental measures.

IGES, Shom Teoh said, will assist Banjarmasin to provide education, socialization, and to promote the city to ASEAN and the world.

"The very much to encourage the city is again to become pilot who will be able to ban plastic bags in all traditional markets," she remarked.

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Head of the Banjarmasin Environment Agency Mukhyar admitted, he felt very encouraged by the support of IGES, who is accompanying the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to realize all modern market to longer use plastic bags.

Indeed in Banjarmasin there six traditional markets that are no longer using plastic bags or traders no longer provide plastic bags for buyers, including Pandu Market, Cemara Market, Teluk Dalam Market, Telawang Market, and Kesatrian Market.

"We focus on these six markets. Indeed the challenges are tough, unlike in the modern market which is easier to implement. It is mixed from top to the lowest level of education, so it is difficult to regulate," Mukhyar pointed out.

After all, he said, the steps must be implemented, and the environment in the city should be maintained properly, until no more plastic waste that is difficult to decompose, even up to hundreds of years.

"Banjarmasin is very concern about improving the environment," he said.
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