Having earned notoriety as one of the top marine polluters in the world from plastic waste, Indonesia is taking action, although the government and the private sector may not see eye to eye on how to tackle the problem.
Pictures of plastic waste polluting waters and beaches tend to get worldwide attention, scaring tourists at a time when the government has been aiming to boost foreign arrivals and revenue.
The government has set a target to reduce plastic waste in the ocean as much as 70% by 2025. It also wants to cut overall waste through reducing, reusing and recycling by 30% in the same year. A number of regional administrations have already introduced bans on the use of plastics, especially single-use products.
Bali, the top tourism destination in Indonesia, introduced its policy in late December. Governor I Wayan Koster has set a target to reduce the island's plastic waste by 60-70% within a year by banning plastic bags, foam containers and straws.
More recently, the Indonesian Retailers Association (Aprindo) reintroduced a policy to charge customers 200 rupiah (equivalent to about 45 satang) per plastic bag starting from March 1.
The government tried to impose a plastic-bag tax in 2016 but it abandoned the plan after a three-month trial amid protests from retailers, especially in the regions. Some even faced police questioning and intervention by local authorities, after customers demanded to know whether the shops had a legal basis for charging a fee.
But now the fee has become an initiative of the industry, to be adopted in phases in accordance with each retailer's readiness, said Tutum Rahanta, the deputy chairman of Aprindo, whose members have about 40,000 outlets.
"Some people may not agree, but at least it would create the awareness to start bringing their own shopping bags when they shop in our members' outlets," he told Asia Focus. "If they don't have one, we advise them to buy it in the store, which they can use repeatedly next time, or just pay for the plastic bag. It's the customer's option."
The government, however, is not the same wavelength as the retailers at the moment. Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar questioned the policy, which she said gave the impression that it was still okay to use plastic bags as long as one pays for them.
"Our sole objective is to reduce plastic waste, not to charge for plastic bags," said Mr Rahanta of Aprindo. "As one of the main sources of plastic bags, we are aware that we should play a part in reducing plastic waste, and we do that by no longer providing plastic bags for free."
The Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI) has also raised doubts about the policy's effectiveness, saying it was "misleading" to say that retailers are no longer providing plastic bags for free since the bags were never free to begin -- their costs are included in the operating costs built into store prices.
YLKI chairman Tulus Abadi said in a statement that paying 200 rupiah per plastic bag was not much of a deterrent, as most people could easily pay for 1,000 rupiah for five plastic bags on a typical shopping trip. The least the retailers could do, he said, would be to switch to biodegradable plastics.
"The government will be monitoring the progress of this initiative and evaluating its effectiveness, especially in its part to reduce plastic waste," environment ministry waste management director Novrizal Tahar told Asia Focus.
Mr Rahanta of Aprindo said that during the 2016 trial run in 23 cities, plastic bag use declined by 30%. Aprindo members, he added, have been using biodegradable plastic bags in accordance to the environment ministry's recommendation.
But modern trade stores represent only 35% of all retail activity in Indonesia, and the use of plastic bags is higher and in traditional markets, which remain unregulated.
In Jakarta alone, people use between 240 million and 300 million plastic bags per year, or 1,900 to 2,400 tonnes, according to research conducted by the Jakarta administration's environmental agency and Gerakan Indonesia Diet Kantong Plastik (GIDKP) or Indonesia on a Plastic Bag Diet Movement.
"In general, customers in Jakarta use between one and three plastic bags every time they shop for groceries. They visit modern retailers for monthly shopping and shop in traditional markets or stalls for daily and weekly needs," said Tiza Mafira, executive director of the movement.
According to environment ministry data, Jakarta produces 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day. The four most common items found in coastal areas are disposable plastic bags, straws, plastic sachets and foam containers.
Mr Novrizal of the environment ministry said that Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan province, had managed to take 52 million plastic bags out of circulation since it banned modern trade retailers from using them in June 2016.
Muharram Atha Rasyadi, a campaigner for Greenpeace Indonesia, said regional administrations' initiatives to ban single-use plastics should be consistent and implemented thoroughly across the country.
He said businesses have to innovate and abandon the use of single-use plastics for good. Plastic contamination poses different risks to human health in every phase of life from the chemical elements released during use, and after use when the waste pollutes food sources and the environment.
"The main solution to the plastic waste problem is to reduce the supply of single-use plastic. Burning plastic waste in an incinerator is not a solution since it releases toxic chemical elements to the air," Mr Rasyadi told Asia Focus.