, Columnist
Indonesia's Dangerous Trash Tax
A levy on plastic bottles will do more harm than good.
It'll get worse.
Photographer: Juni Kriswanto/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Indonesia is drowning in plastic trash. Bottles pollute its beaches, bags congest its waterways and instant-noodle cups overflow its garbage bins. It's only getting worse: By 2019, Indonesia will generate about 5 percent more trash than it did in 2014, and about 15 percent of that will be plastic.
Fixing this problem has become a priority for lawmakers. In February, they slapped a tax on plastic shopping bags. This month, they'll consider one on plastic containers, including drink bottles. It's a simple solution -- and it's likely to cause much more misery than the mess it's designed to clean up.