Indonesia’s Plastic Overshoot Day fell on July 18 in 2025. This is the date when the amount of plastic waste produced in the country exceeds its estimated capacity to manage it safely. After this point, more waste is at risk of being dumped, burned, left uncollected, or carried into rivers and the sea.

Indonesia produced an estimated 4,220,938 tonnes of plastic waste in 2025, or about 15 kg per person.

Of this total, around 1,908,894 tonnes were expected to be mismanaged. In simple terms, this means the waste was not handled safely from start to finish. It may not have been collected at all, or it may have been dumped in open areas, burned without proper controls, or lost during transport and storage.

This matters because plastic left in the open can travel easily. A bottle, bag, or food wrapper can be carried by wind or rain into a drain, then into a river, and eventually towards coastal areas and the Ocean. Marine pollution often begins far from the sea.

The problem also extends to microscopic plastic pollution. In 2025, an estimated 78,625 tonnes of microplastics were expected to enter Indonesia’s waterways. These come from sources such as tyre wear, synthetic clothing fibres, plastic pellets and paint, and their small size makes them extremely difficult to remove once dispersed.

Reaching plastic overshoot in July means Indonesia’s waste system cannot safely manage all the plastic produced for nearly half of the year. Still, the trend is moving in the right direction: Plastic Overshoot Day fell on 6 July in 2021, 12 July in 2022, 15 July in 2023 and 2024, and 18 July in 2025. The later date suggests that the country is gradually improving its capacity to collect, treat and manage plastic waste, but there is still a long way to go.

Reducing plastic pollution requires more than cleanup. It also means reducing unnecessary plastic, improving product design, and strengthening collection, sorting and recycling systems. At the same time, plastic that has already reached the environment still needs to be removed.

In Batu Lumbang, Bali, Ogyre works with local fishers through Fishing for Litter activities. Moving by kayak through the mangrove forest, they collect plastic and other debris carried by rivers and tides, trapped among the roots.

Ogyre also supports coastal collection in Bekasi, Java, where ocean-bound waste is intercepted before it reaches marine environments.

Once collected, the waste is delivered to certified local operators. Materials are sorted and recycled whenever possible. When recycling is not suitable, they are sent to other responsible treatment solutions.

Indonesia’s Plastic Overshoot Day moving later each year is encouraging, as it suggests that the country’s waste management capacity is improving. However, with around half of plastic waste still mismanaged, the scale of the problem remains significant.

Real progress depends on several actions moving forward together: reducing unnecessary plastic use, designing products with a lower environmental impact, strengthening waste collection and treatment systems, preventing leakage into rivers, and removing waste that has already reached the environment.

As these systems become stronger, less plastic will reach waterways, coastal areas and the Ocean. Plastic Overshoot Day can then move closer to the end of the year.

United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP (2021), From Pollution to Solution: A Global Assessment of Marine Litter and Plastic Pollution link

United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP (2023), Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy link

United Nations Environment Programme – UNEP (2024), Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 link

Ogyre (2025), Ogyre Protocol link

Ogyre (2025), Ogyre Code of Conduct link

EA Earth Action. (2025). Plastic Overshoot Day: Country dates 2025 link

EA Earth Action. (2025). Plastic Overshoot Day: Report 2025.  link