COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION TO REDUCE ACCUMULATION OF

PLASTIC BAGS

(CASE STUDY IN AL-KHUMS CITY , LIBYA )

Thesis

Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For

The Degree of Master in Environmental Sciences

Naser Ali Ahmed Alhderi

L4K00918

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE STUDY PROGRAM

POST GRADUATE

UNIVERSITAS DIPONEGORO

SEMARANG

2010

THESIS

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION TO REDUCE ACCUMULATION OF

PLASTIC BAGS

(CASE STUDY IN AL-KHUMS CITY , LIBYA )

By

NASER ALI AHMED ALHDERI

L4K009018

Supervision Commission

First Supervisor

Ir.Agus Hadiyarto, MT

Second Supervisor,

Dra. Hartuti Purnaweni,MPA

Chairman of

Master Program in

Environmental Science

Prof. Dr. Ir. Purwanto, DEA

LEMBAR PENGESAHAN

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION TO REDUCE ACCUMULATION OF

PLASTIC BAGS

(Case Study in Al-Khums City, Libya )

By

Naser Ali Ahmed Alhderi

Has been defended in front of the Examiner Team

on August 12, 2010

and Meets the Requirements for Acceptance

Ketua Tanda Tangan

Ir.Agus Hadiyarto, MT …………………………………..

Anggota, Tanda Tangan

Dra. Hartuti Purnaweni,MPA

……………………………………

Ir, Danny Sutrisnanto,M.Eng

…………………………………..

Dra, Sri Suryoko, M.Si

…………………………………..

PERNYATAAN

Saya menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bawah tesis yang saya susun sebagai syarat

untuk memperoleh gelar mgister dari Program Magister Ilmu Lingkungan Diponegoro

Universitas seluruhnya merupakan hasil karya saya sendiri.

Adapun bagian-bagian tertentu dalam penulisan tesis yang saya kutip dari hasil karya

orang lain telah dituliskan sumbernya secara jelas sesuai dengan norma, kaidah dan etika

penulisan ilmiah

Apabila di kemudian hari ditemukan seluruh atau sebagian tesis ini bukan hasil karya

saya sendiri atau adanya plagiat dalam bagian-bagian tertentu,saya bersedia menerima

sanksi pencabutan gelar akademik yang saya sandang dan sanksi- sanksi lainnya sesuai

dengan peraturan perundangan yang berlaku.

Semarang, Agustus 2010

Naser Ali Ahmed Alhderi

Curriculum Vitae

My name is Naser Ali Ahmed Alhderi, Libyan. I was

born in AL-khums city / Libya in 1980.

• Secondary school / Ibrahim Al-rfahe /

graduated in 1998.

• University Al- Mergeb / Al-khums / Faculty of

Arts and Science, Al-khums (Geology and Geo-

environment department)/graduated in 2002-

2003

• Staff in Cattle Breeding Project / Al-khums

(2004-2006).

• Staff in Syuhada Al-Marqab High School / Al-khums (2006-2008)

ABSTRACT

Plastic bags are one of the most common items used by people around the world. Shoppers worldwide are using around 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags per year. Plastic bags however, are made from oil. The carbon footprint of plastic (LDPE or PET, polyethylene) is about 6 kg CO2 per kg of plastic. This study was done to determine plastic bags use in the Al-khums City, to know the accumulation of plastic bags waste, the awareness of the people about the accumulation of plastic bags waste in the environment, and how to minimize plastic bags use by the people who live in Al-khums City. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) was used in this research to explain the relation between personal, behavior and environment factors of the community in Al-khums City in relation to the issue. In total, the 73,520 families who live there consumed 238,204,800 of plastic bags in one year. There were 18,132,470 plastic bags disposed by shop owners and 120,793,360 plastic bags disposed by the customers and public in one year and 760,800Kg emissions CO2 for two factories in one year. There was a strong awareness about the negative effects caused by plastic bags to the environment. Albeit shop owners, customers and public of the city were committed and willing to participate in minimizing the use of plastic bags, no concrete step has been taken because no alternative was available. This study wants to suggest that the government take a bigger role in regulating the production of plastic bags and provide people with alternatives such as biodegradable shopping bags..

Keywords: plastic bags, accumulation, community, Al-khums, Libya.

ABSTRAK

Kantung plastik adalah salah satu benda yang paling sering digunakan oleh orang-orang di seluruh dunia. Para pembeli di dunia menggunakan sekitar 500 milyar sampai satu trilyun kantung plastik setiap tahun. Sayangnya kantung plastik dibuat dari minyak dan memiliki carbon footprint sebesar 6 kg CO2 per kilogram plastik. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menentukan jumlah penggunaan kantong plastik di Kota Al-khums, untuk mengetahui akumulasi limbah kantong plastik, kesadaran masyarakat tentang akumulasi sampah kantong plastik di lingkungan, dan bagaimana untuk meminimalkan kantong plastik digunakan oleh orang yang tinggal di kota Al-khums. Teori Kognitif Sosial (SCT) digunakan dalam penelitian ini untuk menjelaskan hubungan antara pribadi, perilaku dan faktor lingkungan masyarakat di kota Al-khums dalam hubungannya dengan masalah ini. Secara keseluruhan, 73.520 keluarga yang tinggal di sana mengkonsumsi 238.204.800 kantong plastik setiap tahun. Kantung plastic yang dibuang oleh para pemilik took berjumlah 18,132,470, sedangkan jumlah yang dibuang pelanggan dan publik sebesar 120,793,360 buah. dan 760,800Kg pembuangan CO2 oleh dua pabrik dalam setahun. Ada kesadaran yang kuat tentang dampak negatif yang ditimbulkan oleh tas plastik terhadap lingkungan. Meskipun pemilik toko, pelanggan dan publik kota Al-khums berkomitmen dan bersedia untuk berpartisipasi dalam mengurangi penggunaan kantong plastic, belum ada partisipasi yang nyata dalam hal ini karena tidak tersedianya alternatif. Studi ini merekomendasikan agar pemerintah mengambil peran lebih besar dalam mengatur standar produksi kantong plastik dan menyediakan alternatif tas belanja yang lebih ramah lingkungan ..

Kata kunci: kantung plastik, akumulasi, masyarakat, Al-khums, Libya.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Alhamdulillah praise to Allah the Almighty for this blessing that this report is finally

completed.

I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Ir Agus Hadiyarto,

MT. who has the attitude and the substance of a genius: he continually and convincingly

conveyed a spirit of adventure in regard to research, and an excitement in regard to

teaching. Without his guidance and persistent help this dissertation would not have been

possible.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my second supervisor, Dra. Hartuti

Purnaweni for her support and guidance throughout the research. Her continued support

led me to the right way.

My sincere thanks to my family, brothers, sisters and especially my mother and to

memory of my father.

Beside this, I would like to thanks my favorite teacher Dra. Hartuti Purnaweni for her

comments, suggestion, and encouragement throughout the first steps of this report, and

also to all my classmates in the program of Environmental Science in Diponegoro

University, and finally to the beautiful Semarang city

SEMARANG ………

NASER ALI AHMED ALHDERI, L4K009018

CONTENTS

Lembar Pengesahan iii

Pernyataan iv

Curriculumvitae v

Abstract vi

Abstrak vii

Acknowledgment viii

Contents ix

List of Figure xii

List of Table xvi

CHAPTER I Introduction 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Research Problem 5

1.3 Research Question 6

1.4 Research Objectives 6

1.5 Benefit of the Study 6

CHAPTER II Theoretical Background 7

2.1 Plastic Bags 7

2.1.1 Types of Plastic Bags in Terms of

Polyethylene

7

2.2 The Making a Plastic Bags 8

2.2.1 Energy 8

2.2.2 Ingredients 9

2.3 Classification of Polyethylene 9

2.4 Materials of Plastic Bags 10

2.5 Ecological Footprint of Plastic

Bags

11

2.6 Plastic bags – CO2 emissions

during their lifetime

12

2.7 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) 12

2.8 Theoretical Framework 14

2.9 Community Participation 14

2.10 Some Environmental Policies in

Libya

17

CHAPTER III Methodology 21

3.1 Type of Research 21

3.2 Location of the Study 21

3.3 Phenomenon in the Al-khums city 21

3.4 Sampling 22

3.5 Data Source 23

3.5.1 Primary Data 23

3.5.2 Secondary Data 23

3.6 Data Analysis 24

CHAPTER IV Description Of The Study Area 25

4.1 Description of Al-Khums City 25

4.2 Al-khum's History 26

4.3 Economy of Al-khums City 26

4.4 Population in Al-khums City,

Libya

26

CHAPTER V Result and Analysis 28

5.1 Plastic Bags Used in The Shop 28

5.1.1 Quantity 28

5.1.2. Type of Plastic Bags 33

5.2 Accumulation Of Plastic Bags In The

Environment

40

5.2.1 Amount Of Plastic Bags Waste In The

Environment In The Al-Khums City

40

5.2.2 Location of plastic bags waste 48

5.3 People’s Awareness About The

Accumulation Of Plastic Bags

52

5.3.1 People’s Understanding of The Impact of

Plastic Bags In The Environment

52

5.3.2 People taking action to minimize 59

5.4 Minimizing the use of plastic bags in the

community

66

5.4.1 Ways to minimize plastic bags use 66

5.5 Conclusion 79

5.6 Recommendation 80

References 82

List of Figures page No

1 Concept Model SCT 13

2 Map of Al-khums city, Libya 25

3 Plastic bags used every week 29

4 Weights of plastic bags per day 30

5 Plastic bags used by customer each week 30

6 Plastic bags when customer buy something 31

7 Plastic bags used each week 32

8 Plastic bags get when the public buy something 32

9 Types of plastic bags 33

10 Colours of plastic bags used 34

11 Sizes of plastic bags use more 34

12 Types of plastic bags 35

13 Colours plastic bags 35

14 Sizes of plastic bags waste 36

15 Types of plastic bags used by the public 36

16 Colours of plastic bags 37

17 Sizes of plastic bags waste 37

18 Accumulations of plastic bags around the city on 10.

March. 2010

41

19 Accumulations of plastic bags near the beach of Al-khums

city on 10. March.2010

42

20 Plastic bags throw in the animals farming area on 10.

March.2010

43

21 Plastic bags disposed every day by shop owner 44

22 Shop owners’ knowledge of the harmful effects of plastic

bags to the environment

44

23 Plastic Bags Disposed Every Day by Customers 45

24 Customers’ Knowledge of Places Where Plastic Bags

Would End Up

45

25 Customers’ Knowledge of Plastic Bags Harmful in the

Environment

46

26 Plastic Bags Disposed Every Day by the Public 46

27 Public’s Knowledge of Where the Plastic Bags Would End

Up

47

28 Public’s Knowledge of Plastic Bags’ Harmful Effect to the

Environment

47

29 location of plastic bags waste according to shop owners 48

30 Location of Plastic Bags Waste according to customers 49

31 Location of Plastic Bags Waste according to the public 49

32 Shop owners’ knowledge on how long plastic bags will

stay in the environment to decompose

52

33 Shop Owners’ Knowledge on Impacts of Plastic Bags to

the Animals

53

34 Shop Owners’ Knowledge about the Advantages and

Disadvantages of Plastic Bags

53

35 Plastic Bags At Home 54

36 Customers’ Knowledge about Advantages and

Disadvantages of Plastic Bags

54

37 Customers’ knowledge on how long plastic bags will stay

in the environment to decompose

55

38 Sheep and Goats around the Al-khums City On 10.March.

2010

56

39 Customers’ Knowledge about the Impact of Plastic Bags on

the Animals

57

40 Plastic Bags At Home 57

41 Public’s Knowledge about Advantages and Disadvantages

of Plastic Bags

58

42 Public’s knowledge on how long plastic bags will stay in

the environment to decompose

58

43 Public’s Knowledge about the impact of Plastic Bags on 59

the Animal

44 Plastic Bags Usage 59

45 Shop Owners’ ability to Minimize Plastic Bags Use 60

46 Plastic Bags Should Be Banned 60

47 How to Minimize Plastic Bags Waste 61

48 Plastic Bags Should Be Banned 61

49 How to Dispose Plastic Bags 62

50 How to Minimize Plastic Bags Use 62

51 Plastic Bags Should Be Banned 63

52 How to Dispose the Plastic Bags 63

53 Shop Owners’ Knowledge of Alternatives of Plastic Bags 67

54 Shop Owners’ Knowledge of the Three Concepts of

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

67

55 Shop Owners’ Agreement or Disagreement to Minimizing

Plastic Bags Use

68

56 Shop Owners’ Knowledge on Ideas to Change Plastic Bags

with Other Materials

68

57 Customers’ Reasons of Why Using Plastic Bags 69

58 Customers’ Knowledge on Plastic Bags Separation 69

59 Customers’ Plastic Bags Reuse 70

60 Customers’ Knowledge of Some Alternatives to Plastic

Bags

70

61 Customers’ Knowledge about the Three Concepts of

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

71

62 Customers’ Agreement or Disagreement to Minimize

Plastic Bags Use

71

63 Customers’ Ideas on Changing Plastic Bags with Other

Materials

72

64 Public’s Reasons for Using Plastic Bags 72

65 Public Knowledge of Whether plastic Bags Waste is

Separated from Other Wastes

73

66 Public’s Reuse of Plastic Bags Waste 73

67 Public’s Knowledge of Some Alternatives to Plastic Bags 74

68 Knowledge about Three Concept (Reduce, Reuse. Recycle) 74

69 Public’s Agreement or Disagreement on Minimizing

Plastic Bags Use

75

70 Ideas for Change Plastic Bags to Other Material 75

List of Tables Page No

4.1 Population of Al-khums City 27

5.1 Plastic Bags Used in Al-khums City 38

5.2 Accumulation of Plastic Bags in Al-khums City 50

5.3 People’s Awareness about Accumulation of Plastic Bags 64

5.4 Minimizing the Use of Plastic Bags in the Community 76

List of Appendixes

A The questionnaire for factory, shop owner, customer and public in AL-khums

city

B Pictures of plastic bags accumulation in Al-khums City

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Human being needs lots of things in their life, both for their survival, and also for their

convenience. Modern life demands more and more conveniences, since modern people

strive for more and more satisfaction in their life. Due to this, many new items are

invented and introduced to fulfill the ever growing human needs. One of the most

common items in our modern world is the ubiquitous plastic bag. Highly convenient,

strong and inexpensive, plastic grocery bags are appealing to both customers and

businesses as a reliable way to deliver goods, such as from the store to home. However,

there are several issues associated with the production, use, and disposal of plastic

grocery bags which may not be initially apparent to most users, but which are nonetheless

extremely important. By assessing the lifecycle of plastic bags, we can better understand

the full ecological footprint of the plastic bag, and find more effective means of dealing

with the associated negative impacts [24].

Plastic bags have been a part of daily life in developed countries since their introduction

in 1977 [24], and in more recent years, their use has spread too many developing countries

as well [4]. Unfortunately, the most common final resting place for garbage bags is the

garbage bin, resulting in countless numbers of bags filling landfills and spilling over onto

essentially every other surface of the planet [24]. It is the very prevalence of these bags

that result in several critical environmental and social impacts associated with their use

and immediate disposal. It is not fully consciously known, however, that plastic is so

durable that it can take hundreds of years to break down at sea, and some types never

truly biodegrade at water body [24]. Therefore, their environmental impacts are significant.

The impact of the human factor on the environment has reached such a level that society

is now trying to do everything possible (and sometimes impossible) just to prevent the

world’s destruction along with its inhabitants. Thus, all governments are morally being

asked to reduce their output of contaminants until suitable environment quality levels are

reached. The newest technology used for this purpose, widely known as consists of

methods and inventions which are aimed to reducing contaminants of air, ground and

water. This is achieved either through multiple processing of the contaminants until they

have reached harmless levels, or through inventions that would only contaminate the

environment less or not at all. There has also been an enormous effort to use alternative

energy sources to preserve the environment, such as wind, tidal and solar power as well

as geothermal, nuclear, hydroelectric and biomass [2].

Plastic bags are becoming a major environmental concern in many countries around the

world. The bags have blocked drains and caused severe floods over the last couple of

decades in Bangladesh, costing thousands of people their lives. They have, rather

ironically, assumed a new identity as the ‘national flower’ of South Africa because they

are so often caught up in trees and fences. Even in Ireland the image was seriously

threatened by intense littering of plastic bags - until halting measures were taken [4].

The environmental implications of polyethylene bags, that take hundreds of years to

decompose, are harsh. Negative outcomes include: the wasted resources locked away in

the millions of plastic bags in landfills, the littering of landscapes and waterways, threats

to wildlife (100,000 mammals and turtles are killed by plastic debris annually), and toxic

gas emissions through their burning. Numbers of plastic bags used by shoppers are also

an indicator of our consumption. [27]

Plastic is made from petroleum by-products. Raw materials used in the manufacture of

plastics are petroleum, natural gas, coal, and some salts. Plastic makes around 4% of all

oil products. It is extracted in the process of oil refining in petrochemical plants, which is

a major and complex process producing also a lot of contaminating material.

The manufacture of plastic uses organic chemicals as raw materials in a long series of

production operations. Polyethylene consists of five types. Plastic manufactured from one

of these species is called polyethylene - ethylene. Polyethylene is a long series of atoms

of carbon and hydrogen which needs hundreds of years to dismantle in natural

environment. Although plastic bags make up only a small percentage of all litter, the

impact of these bags is nevertheless significant. Plastic bags create visual pollution

problems and can have harmful effects on aquatic and terrestrial animals. Plastic bags are

particularly noticeable components of the litter stream due to their size and the long time

it needs to fully break down [27].

One of the most important issues in the world today is global warming. Carbon dioxide

(CO2) is one of the gases that contribute to global warming. One of the sources of CO2

emission is the usage of fossil fuels like oil. Plastic is made from oil, thus production and

incineration of plastic emit also CO2. In fact, The production of 1 kg of polyethylene

(PET or LDPE), requires the equivalent of 2 kg of oil for energy and raw material

.Polyethylene PE is the most commonly used plastic for plastic bags. Burning 1 kg of oil

creates about 3 kg of carbon dioxide. In other words: Per kg of plastic, about 6 kg carbon

dioxide is created during production and incineration [9] [3].

The accepted standard thickness of plastic bags in the world is seven Micros. This

standard thickness enables the plastic bags to be used more than one time [2] ,and

therefore to make them more environmentally friendly.

For the last 5 years the Government of Libya has been trying to find solutions on how to

reduce the present pollution effect of plastic bags on the environment. In the city of Al-

Khums, experts and specialists in the areas of environment have warned about the effects

of plastic bags use by the public in the bakeries and grocery stores in Al-Khums City.

The problem can already be described as “disaster” due to the absence of serious

response from the state to deal with the problem [22].

Environmental effects of plastic bags are many. Because plastic bags are not

biodegradable quickly like some other wastes, they would eventually accumulate for a

thousand years in the environment as an organic pollutant. This means that their waste,

which contains many materials such as carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, nitrogen, and others,

would pose a serious threat to the environment. The negative effects of plastic bags waste

can be explained as follows [27]:

1- The light weight of the plastic bags counts as the most important factor in the

contamination of open spaces, public squares, the main streets within and outside the

cities, on the beach and the sea. Excessive consumption of plastic bags thus makes

this highly difficult to decompose material a serious problem.

2- The ease in which plastic bags can fly in the air and spread in vast area is an

impediment of the effort to compile and dispose them. This will then bring disruption

to the general appearance of the premises where there are found to create a so called

“visual pollution”.

3- Plastic bags can stick to trees and plants and block out light from some parts of the

plants, causing the failure to complete the process of photosynthesis.

4- The cattle and cows eating plastic bags encountered during their grazing exposes the

animals to disease and death.

5- The plastic bags buried in the soil will create the formation of unnatural layer of

plastic which then acts as a buffer within the soil, causing rain to dwell only in the

upper part of the soil and thus preventing the access of water and fertilizer required to

the bottom of the soil.

6- Accumulation of plastic bags waste will provide an environment for parasites and

pathogens because plastic is a substance which can float above the surface of the

water for a long time.

7- In the case of burning the plastic bags waste, we will also release chlorine, carbon

dioxide and other gaseous compounds, as well as acids and other toxic compounds

harmful to human health.

8- Their presence and spread in the coastal areas is also a threat to the marine

environment and marine organisms [27].

The problem of plastic bags accumulation in Libya is one of the biggest environmental

problems to which the authorities there have not been able to find a solution until this

moment. Like other big cities in Libya, the city of Al-Khums, which is situated at 120

kilometers east of the capital Tripoli, is currently struggling with this problem. The

reason for this is the frequent use of plastic bags by the people of the city in their many

daily activities. Plastic bags, which are produced in high quantity, generate a lot of

money for the factory producing them. However, there are no plans to address the

problem, and apparently the people still do not feel the impact that these bags have on the

degradation of the environment. The city government hasn’t acted on this matter also, as

seen in the fact that there is no policy regulating the production, use and disposal of

plastic bags as yet [22].

1.2. Research Problem

Materials used for making plastic bags can remain in the environment for centuries, while

its usefulness can only last for only an hour or two. So, in exchange for something that

will serve us only in the matter of hours, we will have used oil and other pollutants used

in their production which will remain in the land without any benefit for hundreds of

years.

The questions now are: Does this make sense to keep making plastic bags excessively in

Al-Khums City? What are the people in Al-Khums City currently doing with plastic

bags? What should they do with them in the future?

1.3. Research Question

The problems in this research are:

1- What kinds of plastic bags used in Al-Khums City?

2- How is the accumulation of plastic bags in the environment?

3- How is the people’s awareness about the accumulation of plastic bags waste in the

environment?

4- What can the community in Al-Khums City do to reduce the effects that plastic bags

waste has to the environment?

1.4. Research Objectives

The objectives in this research are:

1- To identify plastic bags used in Al-Khums City and emission CO2.

2- To count the accumulation of plastic bags waste in the environment of Al-khums

City.

3- To study people’s awareness on the accumulation of plastic bags use in the

environment.

4- To study how to reduce plastic bags use in the community.

1.5. Benefit of the Study

1- To give scientific contribution in creating a social awareness of the negative impacts

which plastic bags can have to the environment.

2- The study is also expected to give a better understanding on the impact of plastic bags

accumulation to the environment.

3- To give recommendation on how to reduce the accumulation of plastic bags to the

environment so that their impact on the environment can be minimized.