UNAIR NEWS – Plastic waste is one of the significant environmental problems. Besides harming the environment, single-use plastic bags have also been utilized at an alarming level.

Various ways have been done to reduce single-use plastic waste, one of which is the Plastic-Free Surabaya People’s Market program under the auspices of the Surabaya Environment Service. To oversee this activity, an environmental expert from Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Nita Citrasari S.Si., M.T., was appointed as a leading researcher in the study program.

As the leading researcher, Nita said that single-use plastic is the dominant plastic waste in Surabaya. “Therefore, this program aims to reduce the utilization of single-use plastic bags in Surabaya, starting from the People’s Markets in Surabaya,” she explained.

The initial implementation of this program was to examine the readiness of the people’s markets in carrying out the program. After exploring 67 markets under the management of the Regional Company (PD) Pasar Surya, she and the waste research team, which consisted of 25 students from the Environmental Engineering Study Program (PTL), found three markets qualified for the pilot project, Pasar Genteng, Pasar Pucang, and Pasar Kapasan. In these three markets, on Friday, December 3, 2021, Nita and her team conducted research followed by education and dissemination to change single-use plastic bags with cloth bags.

In this study, the UNAIR Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) lecturer also found that continuous dissemination is needed to increase community participation in this program. “The public needs to be given real evidence regarding the impact of plastic on the environment. For example, the flooding in Pasar Kapasan resulted from single-use plastic bags accumulating in the gutter. When the gutter was opened, a bad odor came out. In other words, the flood and the smell of garbage were real evidence,” she said.

Nita hoped that there would be an acceleration in establishing regulations on the utilization of single-use plastic bags in Surabaya. In addition, the sense of love for the environment should be grown by the community. “Hopefully, people will love their environment. Their love can be shown by reducing the utilization of single-use plastic bags, carrying cloth bags or baskets when shopping at the market, and so on,” she hoped. (*)

Author: Stefanny Elly

Editor : Khefti Al Mawalia