A Systems-Thinking Approach to Finding Solutions for Fishing Plastic Waste in Indonesia

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Plastic is entrenched in modern day society due to its beneficial characteristics and applications. However, the major issue with plastic is the rapid rate of wastage coupled with the lack of an adequate waste management system. This has led to plastics becoming a ubiquitous pollutant in our environment, with millions of tonnes of plastics leaking into marine and coastal environments annually. This project investigates the impacts of marine plastic pollution resulting from the small-scale fishing activities in Indonesia, specifically focusing on the East Nusa Tenggara province. Small-scale fisheries are engrained in the nation's way of life; thus, they can serve as an indefinite source of plastic pollution, or equally, an avenue for high plastic pollution reductions if more sustainable practices are introduced. When trying to improve the sustainability of products or practices, a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary to come to an informed decision that satisfies environmental and wider societal needs. The project will employ the complex value optimisation for resource recovery (CVORR) approach to analyse the entire system and assess the sustainability impacts of plastics and alternative use practices. The CVORR approach recognises that siloed thinking delivers short-term solutions that can create problems elsewhere in the system and fragment knowledge.