The Indonesian government is conducting educational drives in schools across the country to make children aware about plastic pollution and encourage the three R’s - Reduce. Reuse, Recycle.

The Education and Culture Ministry, in collaboration with the Environment and Forestry Ministry supports the educational drive. With more than 250,000 schools taking part, the drive has witnessed 4,305 schools also win the National Adiwiyata Award.The project, which began in June 2022, will run for two years.  It started with an extensive Educator Training Program for 40 teachers from 20 different schools. 

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, is the world’s second largest contributor, behind China, to plastic waste in the world’s oceans. Research from scientific journal Nature suggests that of the global plastic waste in oceans, almost 15% comes from Indonesia.

Indonesia has been working consistently towards creating a better ecosystem. In 2015, the Indonesian government announced a national waste awareness movement initiative. Experts maintain that the information and techniques provided in these campaigns are useful for the children studying in schools as well as the future generation.

This education drive is a timely and an important step to expand the education of Indonesia’s youth so that they understand the problem of single-use plastic pollution and improper waste disposal, along with behavioural change of the community.