Joint Indonesian-Dutch effort to curb ocean waste
Indonesian Minister of the Environment Siti Nurbaya and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora Van Nieuwenhuizen signed an Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the cooperation in waste management, circular economy, water quality and climate change.
The cooperation includes the reduction of plastic waste ending up in the ocean.
State visit
The signing ceremony took place in Jakarta on 9 March on the occasion of a state visit by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima to Indonesia.
On the occasion of the MoU signing minister Siti Nurbaya said that 33 Indonesian cities have imposed a ban on single-use plastic bags. The ban results from Indonesia’s national policy to curb the volume of plastic waste by 70 percent by 2025.
According to the Indonesian press agency Antara, Minister Cora hailed the signing of the MoU on circular economy. ‘The Netherlands also has experience in processing waste into energy as part of circular economy. There is a business delegation in charge of this issue, which also joins the visit to Indonesia this time.’
Drainage canal
One of the initiatives to curb ocean waste, is the presence of one of The Ocean Cleanup’s Interceptor boats in the Cengkareng drainage canal in West Jakarta. The Dutch foundation has four boats operational worldwide to collect plastic waste at river mouths, preventing the waste to flow into the sea.
Interceptor 001 has been placed in one of Jakarta’s drainage canals where debris that floats in the water is guided to the mouth of the interceptor and lifted, using a conveyer belt, into giant bags collecting the waste. According to The Ocean Cleanup this concept of removing plastic waste from waterways has also potential for 13 other rivers in Indonesia.
