From Waste Colonialism to Environmental Justice: Lessons from Indonesia’s Plastic Pollution Crisis

Erlyna Hendrawan

doi:10.55927/fjmr.v5i4.41

Authors

Erlyna Hendrawan Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Kharisma

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/fjmr.v5i4.41

Keywords:

Global Inequities in Waste Trade, Justice Frameworks, Geographic Focus, and the Central Environmental Issue

Abstract

Indonesia’s plastic pollution crisis reflects global structural inequalities termed waste colonialism, the export of waste from the Global North to developing nations. This study critiques technocratic solutions (e.g., recycling) that overlook socio-political drivers and proposes an environmental justice framework. Through mixed-methods analysis integrating policy reviews, participatory interviews, and spatial mapping, the findings revealed that waste colonialism exacerbates coastal pollution in Java and Bali, driven by imports from the Global North. Effective interventions require community-led circular economy models rooted in local cooperation (gotong royong) and transnational accountability mechanisms to hold waste-exporting nations responsible. This study bridges contamination theory with geopolitical dynamics, highlighting the necessity of policy reforms to curb exploitative waste trade and empower marginalized communities. Environmental governance must prioritize cultural and social equity along with technological fixes to address systemic inequities. These insights underscore the urgency of reimagining global waste regimes through non-justice-centered frameworks.

References

Aramo-Immonen, H. “Mixed Methods Research Design.” Springer Vol. 278 (2011): 32–43.

Creswell, J. W. “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.” (1994).

Davies, Anna R. “Geography and the Matter of Waste Mobilities.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2012.

Lestari, Gita, Tasya Amalia, and M Dian Hikmawan. “The Role of Bye-Bye Plastic Bags in Realizing Bali Provincial Government Policy Regarding the Restriction of Plastic Bags in 2013-2018.” ijd-demos 3 (2021).

Moffett, Jackson, and Jackson Moffett. “The Disproportionate Burden on Vulnerable Communities in the Trade of Plastic Waste : How Environmental Justice Should Be Integrated into the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution The Disproportionate Burden on Vulnerable Communities in Pollution” 30, no. 2 (2024).

Murphy, Michelle. “Alterlife and Decolonial Chemical Relations.” Cultural Anthropology 32, no. 4 (2017): 494–503.

Schlosberg, David. “Defining Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements, and Nature.” Oxford University Press, May 1, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286294.001.0001.

Williams, Christopher. “Doing International Research: Global and Local Methods.” 55 City Road, London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2015. https://methods.sagepub.com/book/mono/doing-international-research-global-and-local-methods/toc.