19 Feb, 2019 - Kevin Aditya Prathama
Rethinking Plastic Waste: ‘Pulau Plastik’ Screening at Urban Social Forum 2018
As hundreds of tonnes of plastic waste enter Indonesia’s oceans on a daily basis, many local organizations and communities are hard at work trying to change the behavior of plastic consumption, particularly of single-use plastic products. Joining this exciting movement, Kopernik has been working on an initiative called Pulau Plastik - an edutainment video series hosted by Gede Robi of Bali-based band Navicula highlighting the plastic waste problem in Bali through better waste management, community activism and policy change.
In Kopernik’s second time participating in the annual Urban Social Forum, we hosted a panel titled Pulau Plastik: Reducing Plastic Waste through Reducing and Recycling for a discussion on how we can reduce our consumption of single-use plastic, starting with a screening of ‘Pulau Plastik”. The Urban Social Forum is an annual event held by the Solo-based nonprofit Kota Kita with an aim to provide an open and inclusive space for exchanging knowledge, debating ideas, and networking between civil society organizations, activists, academics, and students working on pressing urban issues. The sixth Urban Social Forum this year was held in Kota Kita’s home turf of Solo, Central Java on 15-16 December 2018.
The first episode of ‘Pulau Plastik’ brings Robi to meet plastic researcher, dredge rice field irrigation channels, and collect household waste to understand the dangers of plastic waste and the individual efforts we can make to reduce them. After screening to an audience of around 50 people of mostly university students, Vanesha Manuturi from Kopernik’s communications team further shared on the urgency of plastic waste and how ‘Pulau Plastik’ was initiated to address the issue.
Moderated by Kopernik Analyst Dianty Ningrum, the session also included Rendy Aditya Wachid from Parongpong, a Bandung-based zero-waste management company, to talk about his innovative efforts to reduce waste and energy consumption, including a hydrothermal & pyrolysis machine and a high-performance microhouse. In addition, Kevin Prathama from Kopernik’s Last Mile Consulting team expanded on the research with Folia Water, a producer of affordable and recyclable paper filters to provide safe drinking water while also reducing plastic bottle use.
Kopernik believes that sharing our ideas and findings is crucial in finding practical solutions to address today’s social and environmental challenges. Through our participation in the Urban Social Forum in both 2017 and 2018, we have been able to connect and raise awareness of our work to youth, as well as expanding our knowledge on urban issues highlighted by civil society organizations from major Indonesian cities. If you missed the chance to see us at the event, keep tabs on our social media accounts for our next speaking opportunities!