Plastic burning

DR. MICHAEL BEER

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Aug 25, 2016
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I heard there is a law in Indonesia, since 2005, prohibiting burning plastic in the open. Does anybody know where I can find it? thanks a lot
 
There is indeed a law concerning waste management. Namely it is Undang Undang nomor 18 tahun 2008 (and not 2005). In chapter X about "Larangan" you may find article 29 which stipulates:

  1. Setiap orang dilarang:
    1. memasukkan sampah ke dalam wilayah Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia;
    2. mengimpor sampah;
    3. mencampur sampah dengan limbah berbahaya dan beracun;
    4. mengelola sampah yang menyebabkan pencemaran dan/atau perusakan lingkungan;
    5. membuang sampah tidak pada tempat yang telah ditentukan dan disediakan;
    6. melakukan penanganan sampah dengan pembuangan terbuka di tempat pemrosesan akhir; dan/atau
    7. membakar sampah yang tidak sesuai dengan persyaratan teknis pengelolaan sampah.
However, just quoting this article of law wouldn't impress anyone and this for several reasons. One of them is that it is immediately followed by a few paragraphs among which paragraph 3 says:

Ketentuan lebih lanjut mengenai larangan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) huruf e, huruf f, dan huruf g diatur dengan peraturan daerah kabupaten/kota.

and at paragraph 4 you have:

Peraturan daerah kabupaten/kota sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3) dapat menetapkan sanksi pidana kurungan atau denda terhadap pelanggaran ketentuan sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) huruf e, huruf f, dan huruf g.

Basically, the law forbids the burning of trashes (including but not limited to plastic) BUT one has to check the relevant Regional Regulation (Perda Daerah like peraturan kota or peraturan kabupaten) to see what are the possible sanctions and way to proceed to have the nuisance stopped.

If you live in a Kota there is a great probability that the PemKot has passed the necessary PerDa since 2008. If you live in a Kabupaten, you'd better have faith and start to pray for the DPRD to wake up and do their job.

Now, most PerDa I know on the topic include stiff sanction for those who contravene BUT they also all mention that a sengketa must be resolved through a musyawarah when it happens antar masyarakat.

Basically it means that the law can be upheld in court only when there is a MAJOR nuisance involving a MAJOR source of pollution (say for example a major company which would be burning tons of sampah pissing of a whole lingkungan, or after a musyawarah has failed).

If it's just the Pak Bule or the Pak Joko who complains about his neighnor burning a bag of trash, the correct procedure is to go through Pak RT. Only if it doesn't bring any results, the case can be brought to court

If I can give you an advise it is to go to Pak RT and bring up the topic. Without quoting verbatim the chapters and verses of UU 18/2018, let him know that it is a nuisance for you and that you are fully aware that it is legally forbidden. Tell him that obviously you don't intend to forbid your neighbor to burn his trash, but that it would be nice that Pak RT suggest him to burn his trashes in a place the wind doesn't blow it all the way to your windows.

Obviously, if Pak RT doesn''t do anything, you can go to step 2: police and court. However I very much doubt that a prosecutor would take the case for adjucation if it is a neighborhood sengketa.
 
Fact is, that this is a plastic bottle collector who then transports the bottles to Java, but the rest plastic garbage is burned
 
Many areas do have local regulations (for the kompleks for instance) against burning trash and garbage on the street and outside, as well. As Atlantis stated, check with your RT/RW first.
 
thanks a lot. does this mean that you can call the police if some stupid xxx burn plastic? Must they follow up?
Er... you haven't read the post, have you? :D

How to answer your question... well... if you are on an unlimited call paket, calling the police is an option. However, If you spend pulsa at each call, it may end up costing you a lot before getting them raising half an evebrow.

A visit to Pak RT is the way to go, especially, if you can get a couple of neighbors sharing your concern and joining your crusade.
 
Er... you haven't read the post, have you? :D

How to answer your question... well... if you are on an unlimited call paket, calling the police is an option. However, If you spend pulsa at each call, it may end up costing you a lot before getting them raising half an evebrow.

A visit to Pak RT is the way to go, especially, if you can get a couple of neighbors sharing your concern and joining your crusade.
sorry, obviously my brain got already slowed down by this xxx smoke:mad:
 
In Bali, the klian banjar is the equivalent of pak RT. If you have a good relation with the community, and especially if you can get some locals to complain alongside you, there is a good chance you can get the guy to burn his crap elsewhere.
 
It would seem that anyone involved with big or small construction do not care about laws. They burn anything they can so they don't have to remove it. You know that some of that nasty smelling smoke contains some harmful stuff.
 
Fact is, that this is a plastic bottle collector who then transports the bottles to Java, but the rest plastic garbage is burned

That will be the flimsy labels normally around the bottles. The labels either cannot be recycled or are by weight worthless. Is there another way to get rid of them?
 
That will be the flimsy labels normally around the bottles. The labels either cannot be recycled or are by weight worthless. Is there another way to get rid of them?
no, I meant the thousands of little plastic bags e.g. you get when shopping at the local markets. All the packages from shampoo ecc. And what about the sprays? Is there another way to ... of course
 
this is the thing i hate the most about this place , no proper garbage collecting system , and people burn trash outside , this is horrible
 
this is the thing i hate the most about this place , no proper garbage collecting system , and people burn trash outside , this is horrible
Depends where you live , my area has a good rubbish pick up system a couple of times a week ,35k a month ,but ya some people choose not to pay that and burn .
 
Well, its burn it in the streets, or throw it in the rivers, drains, vacant blocks, or out the window of the car/bus!!!
 
Is there another way to ... of course

Sadly the "of course " throw away statement doesn't hold up unless you explain the method with economic data.
My water bottle brand labels in my post above are so light you would need a truck load just to pay for the truck to get to the collection site. If it would pay for that.
I've walked through huge piles of the things and one sinks like walking through a snow bank. There is no density to them.
So called recyclables are shipped world wide. Thai plastic bottles get shredded and shipped to US where laws state that there must be a minimum of a certain percentage recycle. Mixed waste paper from Spain and US is shipped to Indonesia to make cardboard! ( In both instances in SE Asia I have been to the factories)

There is no simple solution to waste other than to stop it before it becomes waste.
 

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