Data Check: Mahfud Says Indonesian Seas Are Polluted, Here's the Data

Presidential candidate number three, Mahfud MD, stated that Indonesian waters are polluted with waste.

He made this statement during the fourth presidential debate of 2024, themed "Sustainable Development, Natural Resources, Environment, Energy, Food, Agrarian, Indigenous Communities and Villages," held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, on Sunday (21/1/2024).

"Our seas are littered with waste, our air poisons our lungs. Investors come in, industrialization occurs. The environment is damaged, the people suffer," said Mahfud.

According to data from the National Coordinating Team for Marine Debris Management (TKN PSL), Indonesian waters can indeed be categorized as polluted. In 2022, a recorded 398 million tons of plastic waste polluted Indonesian waters.

From 2018 to 2022, this number decreased. In 2008, the amount of plastic waste polluting Indonesian waters was recorded at 615 million tons and showed a downward trend until 2022. (Note: There's a discrepancy in the text; it mentions a decrease from 2018-2022 but then refers to a decrease until 2002. This needs clarification in the original Indonesian text.)

Besides plastic waste, TKN PSL recorded various other types of waste polluting the sea, namely:

Food waste: 45%
Wood/Branches/Leaves: 13%
Paper: 13%
Plastic: 10%
Metal: 10%
Cloth/Textiles: 3%
Rubber/Leather: 2%
Glass: 2%
Other: 8%