coordinator@plastikdetox.com

Empowering small businesses to prevent waste

Bali small businesses lead the way against plastic bags

Posted January 29, 2013, 09:21 by Marc

A small group of businesses in Bali’s Sanur area have made voluntary commitments to reduce their use of plastic bags in order to stem the growing tide of garbage on the island. As part of the PlastikDetox Bali campaign, a non-profit grassroots initiative, these cafes and stores are taking part in a unique approach to keep Bali clean and green.

Sanur, Bali (29 January 2013) - A small group of businesses in Bali’s Sanur area have made voluntary commitments to reduce their use of plastic bags in order to stem the growing tide of garbage on the island. As part of the PlastikDetox Bali campaign, a non-profit grassroots initiative, these cafes and stores are taking part in a unique approach to keep Bali clean and green.

“Decreasing our impact on the environment is at the heart of our business,” says Hira Jhamtani , who with her husband Deepak Ghindwani owns Satvika Bhoga, an organic and healthy food store on Jl Hang Tuah. “We operate on the principle that we must tread as lightly as possible on Earth, and joining PlastikDetox is an expression of our commitment.” Other PlastikDetox members include restaurants Manik Organik and Warung Kecil; fair trade shop FFTI; Eco Laundry; Café Batu Jimbar; and Peekaboo Playcafe.

To incentivize small businesses to reduce or stop their use of plastic bags, PlastikDetox seeks to reward them with free publicity through the island’s dynamic print media scene. “We hope that some of the publications circulating in Bali will support us by providing free advertising space to showcase PlastikDetox members,” says Ni Wayan Ani Yulinda of PlastikDetox.

The PlastikDetox campaign is currently investigating alternative packaging solutions that are less likely to have negative environmental impacts, such as bags made from used newspapers. While a growing number of supermarkets have switched to so-called “environment-friendly” plastic bags that it is claimed can degrade in two years, scientific research has proven that these bags in fact remain noxious to the environment.

PlastikDetox is the brainchild of a loose association of concerned individuals called Koalisi Bali Bebas Sampah Plastik (Coalition for Bali Free of Plastic Waste). The coalition has been active since 2010, and initially partnered with the Provincial Environmental Agency (BLH) to reach out to retailers and hypermarkets. Since 2012, the coalition has focused on small businesses.

Despite several initiatives to manage plastic waste in Bali, the amount of garbage continues to grow as tourism and the island’s population expand unsustainably. Data from BLH shows that about 10,000 cubic meters of garbage are produced on the island daily, and that about 15 percent of this is plastic waste. However, only 25 percent of all the garbage is processed by the government because of limited budget and lack of human resources. The rest is burned or discarded in rivers and other unsuitable places where it can cause pollution.

Editor’s notes: PlastikDetox is a campaign that began in the July 2012 to reward businesses that are willing to either
a) stop giving free plastic bags to their customers or
b) charge customers for the use of plastic bags.

In exchange for this commitment, the campaign seeks to provide participating businesses with free publicity. The initiative supports Bali Clean and Green’s programme and the national Diet Kantong Plastik campaign that has been initiated in Java.

PlastikDetox was launched, and is managed, by Koalisi Bali Bebas Sampah Plastik, a loose association that consists of concerned individuals. PlastikDetox is privately funded and managed by volunteers on a part-time basis.

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