UKRI-funded project PISCES launches “Living Labs” in Indonesia to tackle plastic pollution

30 Jun 2023 --- The Partnership for Plastics in Indonesian Society (PISCES) is setting up Living Labs to curb plastic pollution. Starting with Banyuwangi, East Java, the first Living Lab will identify the most abundant plastic litter in the region and educate locals on its damages while finding means of reduction.

These “living laboratories” at the case study sites, where experts from different disciplines and sectors will be brought together with civil society, aim to look at which solutions will work and what the relative costs and benefits of each might be.

PISCES plans to eventually roll out living labs to every province nationwide, with the second and third planned for Bali and East Nusa Tenggara. 

PISCES is a £3.8 million (US$4.8 million) project led by Brunel University London, UK – as part of a larger 2020 £20 million (US$25.2 million) round of funding from the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund. 

The project involves contributions by an interdisciplinary group of experts from universities, research institutions and technical bodies across the UK, Indonesia and Asia, creating an international team to create “hope spots” in Indonesia’s battle against plastic waste.

“We want to help Indonesia be the first nation worldwide to introduce a sweeping, cross-value chain approach to combat plastic waste and pollution,” says professor Susan Jobling of Brunel University London, director at PISCES.

“This will induce a wave of change that addresses plastic pollution at the source. We hope it will spark greater collaboration and commitment from other countries. It will protect marine and freshwater ecosystems, improve fisheries and tourism, strengthen local economies and transform city governance.”

Brunel University London details that Indonesia releases 11.5 million tons of plastic waste annually.Plastic polluter
In 2017, the Indonesian government introduced an ambitious target to reduce marine plastic debris by 70% by 2025. Supporting the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment’s goal, the Living Labs are expected to help local people lift themselves out of a “plastic waste emergency.”  

Brunel University London details that Indonesia releases 11.5 million tons of plastic waste annually. Some 3.4 million tons of this ends up as litter, with more than half of the rest going to landfills.

Banyuwangi has “a huge problem” with plastic pollution and is an area the government is targeting as a testbed for national change. The PISCES Living Lab will help bring waste collection and management to more than a million people.

The team will develop ways to shift away from single-use plastic packaging such as dry food sachets, plastic bags and takeaway food containers to reusable, refillable or returnable packaging. PISCES shares that since Banyuwangi has no rubbish collection service, the team will focus on finding efficient ways to collect, sort and process plastic waste and look for plastic alternatives.

Dr. Eleni Iacovidou lectures in environmental management at Brunel, working with PISCES alongside the Universities of Plymouth, Leeds, Strathclyde, the Asian Institute of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science and six Indonesian universities. 

She says: “Living Labs are a place where solutions to plastic pollution are co-created to support communities making the transition to a sustainable future where plastic pollution is prevented.” 

“The successful implementation of any solution should also be backed by strategies at the policy level that nudge and support multiple stakeholders across the value chain to take action and change the way they think about and use plastics.”The Indonesian government targets to reduce marine plastic debris by 70% by 2025.

Looking in
We delved into Indonesia’s plastic problem and how the PISCES project is suited to tackle it, with German investigative journalist Benedict Wermter, who recently released his book The Plastics Addiction detailing how the human relationship to plastics can be described as analogous to drug and alcohol dependencies.

Wermter and his co-author Jacqueline Goebel offer a 12-step program for recovery in the book, based on four pillars similar to the global anti-drug policy, consisting of prevention, therapy, harm reduction and legislation. 

“Indonesia is currently lacking prevention such as educational approaches and legislation like mandatory extended producer responsibility. The latter is urgent to fight the country’s pollution and enhance waste management besides strong law enforcement across all islands,” Wermter tells us.

He further emphasizes that “a real disruptive shift in Indonesian society and economy is needed to turn off the tap on fast-moving plastics.”

Regarding PISCES’ selection of the case study sites, according to Wermter, even though the test sites are polluted and lack waste management, remote areas such as the Moluccas seem unaddressed and require attention.

“PISCES is going in the right direction, and such scientific and practical guidance is urgently needed. Hopefully, such an initiative will find a strategic approach covering the entire country,” he concludes.

By Radhika Sikaria