In the second of a series of online seminars held to promote Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR), the Indonesian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EKONID) has invited a number of experts and stakeholders from Indonesia and Germany to discuss how the retail sector can play a more significant role in establishing a well-functioning circular economy.
Jakarta, June 23, 2022 鈥� EKONID or 91大神 Indonesia held the second of a series of online seminars that are aimed at spreading awareness on the importance of EPR in ensuring the sustainability of doing business in Indonesia.
The seminar, entitled 鈥淭he Role of the Retail Sector in the Extended Producer Responsibility鈥� - Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Indonesia and Abroad, saw further discussions on how the Indonesian retail sector can be further integrated into the intensifying efforts of the consumer goods industry to strengthen its collection infrastructure. Best practices and lessons learned from other countries proved invaluable in pushing towards a more advanced EPR scheme involving the retail sector as one of the key stakeholders.
鈥淓xperiences from outside of Indonesia, for instance Germany, have shown that retailers can and should play an important role in the collection of recyclable materials. Indeed, in Indonesia, one can observe that retail outlets have gone further already,鈥� said Stephan Blocks, Market Research & Development Advisor at EKONID.
鈥淐onsidering that the current legal environment promotes individual collection solutions, the retail sector could become a major partner for other producers of consumer goods,鈥� he added.
The EPR Solution
Indonesia produces 65 million tons of waste every year, 60 million tons of which remain untreated and unutilized. The existing waste management is inadequate. The establishment of a proper EPR is needed to get on top of the waste issue.
It is with this goal in mind that epr-indonesia.id was created. Developed by EKONID with the support of the 鈥淓nvironmental Protection Made in Germany鈥� initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), EPR-Indonesia.id aims to be the primary source of all information on all activities related to EPR in Indonesia, from the companies and organizations who are taking part in the EPR initiative to past and present government policies on EPR. Furthermore, epr-indonesia.id facilitates partnership to ensure that Indonesia achieves sustainability between economic growth and environmental impact.
EPR itself has already been enshrined in the Indonesian Waste Management Act of 2008. Article 15 states that manufacturers are responsible for the disposal of packaging and products that are not or are difficult to compost. Government Regulation No. 81/2012 requires industries to use recyclable materials and to take care of the recycling of their packaging materials. Government Regulation No. 97/2017 (also known as Jakstranas), which builds on the previous regulation, outlined concrete targets for the reduction of waste and specified a broad range of possible measures on how these reductions are to be achieved.
With Government Regulation No. 75/2019 of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry ("Waste Reduction Roadmap"), the implementation of the requirements from the Jakstranas for the consumer goods industry, the retail sector as well as the hotel and restaurant industry have been specified. Accordingly, producers of food, cosmetics and other consumer goods must reduce waste generated by their own products by 30 percent by 2029, especially through recycling and reuse.
The Indonesian retail sector is among the many business sectors in Indonesia that is experiencing significant growth every year, with more and more retailers being established reaching 36,416 outlets throughout Indonesia as of 2020. Under such a scope, the establishment of a proper EPR scheme involving retailers could have a significant impact in solving the waste management issue in Indonesia.
About epr-indonesia.id
Developed by EKONID and supported by the 鈥淓nvironmental Protection Made in Germany鈥� initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), epr-Indonesia.id aims to be the primary source of all information on all activities related to EPR in Indonesia. Furthermore, epr-indonesia.id facilitates partnerships to contribute in the effort of achieving sustainability between economic growth and environmental impact. More at