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Plastic Tax in Indonesia: a Double Dividend Strategy for Marine Pollution Reduction and Sustainable Revenue Generation
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Indonesia is drowning in plastic waste, with hundreds of thousands of tons leaking into the ocean each year—breaking down into microplastics that can end up in the seafood we eat and the water we drink. This study proposes a plastic tax that could raise billions of dollars while cutting pollution, money that could fund better waste management and ocean cleanup instead of letting the problem grow. It's a reminder that smart policy—not just individual choices—may be key to reducing the plastic that eventually finds its way into our bodies.
Objective: Indonesia’s rapid population growth to 288 million in 2025 has driven total waste generation to 36 million t in 2024, with plastics accounting for 20% (around 7 million t) and 65% of plastic waste entering the environment. Marine plastic leakage declined from 615,000 t in 2018 to 350,000 t in 2024, a 41% reduction that falls short of the 70% target for 2025. Method: Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, this paper first analyzes time-series waste data and conducts document analysis of policy instruments to evaluate a plastic excise tax’s viability. Results: The Ministry of Finance’s proposed Rp30,000/kg rate on plastic tax could generate an estimated IDR 10.50–137.56 trillion in 2024, depending on whether the tax base is defined narrowly around documented marine plastic leakage or more broadly around single-use plastic waste, far exceeding environmental protection allocations that dropped from 18.4% of central spending in 2020 to 0.3% in 2025. Novelty: Grounded in the double-dividend hypothesis, the tax internalizes plastic pollution costs while aiming to support marine protection efforts against marine plastic leakage. Recommendations include immediate implementation with a narrow tax base on single-use plastic bags and/or any specified plastics, legally mandated revenue earmarking for waste infrastructure and marine protection, robust monitoring, and integration with extended producer responsibility to promote circular economy practices and align fiscal policy with Indonesia’s marine debris goals.
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Plastic Tax and Circular Economy Incentives to Tackle Climate Change (indonesian Context)
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This paper examines how a plastic excise tax, modeled on international examples, could reduce single-use plastic consumption in Indonesia while generating government revenue and supporting circular economy goals. It argues that fiscal policy is an underused tool for tackling plastic pollution and its contribution to climate change. While this is a policy paper rather than an ecotoxicology study, it is relevant to the broader question of how societies reduce the plastic waste that ultimately becomes environmental microplastic contamination.
Cukai Plastik Untuk Mengatasi Indonesia Darurat Sampah Plastik
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This Indonesian study analyzes the country's severe plastic waste crisis and evaluates whether a plastic excise tax could be an effective policy tool to reduce plastic consumption and pollution. The authors argue that fiscal policies combined with regulation and public participation are needed to address Indonesia's plastic emergency, which contributes to global microplastic contamination.
Strategies to Overcome Marine Pollution Caused by Plastic Waste to Protect Marine Environment in Indonesia
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This paper reviews plastic pollution in Indonesian marine environments and discusses strategies to reduce it, including improved waste management, education, and policy enforcement. Indonesia is one of the world's largest contributors to ocean plastic waste due to rapid economic growth combined with inadequate waste infrastructure. The authors call for integrated national strategies combining regulatory, technological, and community approaches.
Kantong plastik berbayar membutuhkan regulasi nasional
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This Indonesian policy document argued for national regulation to reduce single-use plastic bag consumption, noting that Indonesia is the world's second-largest contributor of plastic waste to the ocean. The author describes how plastic bags fragment into microplastics and advocates for tax-based measures to change consumer behavior, drawing on international examples.
Plastic Excise Tax in Indonesia: Fiscal Potential and Short-run Economic Impacts from an Input–Output Simulation
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Indonesia is considering a small tax (about 1.3 cents) on single-use plastic bags to fight plastic pollution, which matters for human health since plastic waste breaks down into microplastics that contaminate our food, water, and even our bodies. This study found that while the tax could raise significant government revenue, it would likely cut plastic bag use nearly in half — but it would also cause a short-term dip in economic output, meaning the policy needs to be rolled out gradually with support for affected workers and industries. In short, less plastic pollution is achievable, but it comes with real economic trade-offs that need careful management.
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