Spatial Assessment of Illegal Plastic Waste and Environmental Impacts in Babakan and Cikarawang Villages in Bogor Regency.

Abstract

Plastic has become an essential component of our daily lives due to its use in packaging, construction, electronics and other applications. However, due to inadequate disposal of plastic waste worldwide, plastic pollution has become an urgent global challenge. In fact, according to the UNEP, out of 9.2 billion tons of plastic produced between 1950 and 2017, around 76% ended up as waste. In 2019 alone, annual waste production reached 450 million tons, which is expected to rise to 550 million tons by 2025 if the current waste management policies remain unchanged. Indonesia alone generated 7.8 million tons of plastic waste, 63% of which was mismanaged. Sadly, a significant portion of this waste is mishandled, primarily through illegal dumping and other practices linked with landfills and transportation. Illegal dumping, defined as the unauthorized disposal of waste in parks, forests, vacant land, along roadsides, waterways and other areas, continues to exacerbate the issue. This research aimed to spatially assess the illegal plastic waste dumping and environmental impacts in the villages of Babakan and Cikarawang in Bogor, Indonesia. We utilized the Avenza Maps application for data collection, purposive and Yamane formula sampling to map factors that lead to illegal dumping. In pursuit of this aim, we employed Geographic Information System technology through Euclidean distance and logistic regression analysis. Our findings revealed that 160 sites were engaging in illegal dumping of plastic waste. Furthermore, 55.63% of these sites were at elevations ranging from 124 to 173 meters above sea level, while 82.5% were found at distances of 0 to 156 m from rivers. In addition, 95% were within 0 to 136 meters from settlements, and 53.7% were found in areas with scattered vegetation, underscoring the significance of these parameters in driving the unlawful disposal of plastic waste, coupled with other factors such as communities avoiding to pay for waste fees and lack of waste collection facilities. As a result, our model proved that 35 polygons covering an area of 4.244 Km2

in both villages are vulnerable to such practices. As a consequence, they face water and air pollution, soil contamination, causing flooding and ecosystem disruption, aggravation of climate change and biodiversity loss. We concluded that plastic waste management laws and regulations need to be strengthened along with the development of waste collection facilities and promotion along with environmentally friendly packaging.