Just a few months ago, the forest fires in Indonesia resulted in a crisis that affected not only Idonesia, but many of the neighboring countries, reaching as far north as Thailand. Because of the haze, many of my school activities were canceled and I worried as the air quality seemed to get worse with each passing day.

After spending many years in Jakarta, I have seen the city grow and go through many changes. It has been wonderful living in a city that is so diverse and full of culture, but incidents like the haze crisis led me to look into the environmental issues that have resulted from rapid growth. After reading several articles, I realized that the environmental issues in Indonesia are not something we can continue to ignore.

One of the biggest problems I have personally come across in Indonesia is the lack of garbage and recycling programs. While countries like the U.S., and our neighbor, Singapore have organized and effective waste management systems in place, Indonesia has a long way to go to properly manage the waste created by about 250 million residents. After visiting many countries where recycling is a common part of everyone’s daily lives, I realized that the same is not true in Indonesia.

At first, I wondered if people in Indonesia simply did not care about recycling. However, I realized that although the Indonesian government has created different programs and campaigns to promote better waste management and recycling, most people are either not aware that these programs exist, or lack information about recycling to make it a part of their day-to-day lives.

It would be great if there was a magical solution to solve the garbage and recycling problem in Indonesia, but the truth is, there isn’t. However, I believe that we can begin by making small changes and taking small steps to make a difference. I think that the first, and maybe the most important step is to raise awareness of the waste crisis, and to educate communities on ways to properly dispose their garbage. Simple campaigns can teach the public about how to properly separate recyclables, and local governments can give small incentives to promote recycling in the community. Stores can offer small discounts for people who use reusable bags instead of plastic bags.

Another way to increase awareness and to promote recycling is to start educating people at a young age. There are so many campaigns and projects that can be easily launched at schools to teach students about recycling in a fun way that is also easy to understand. For example, the Ecocap Project in Japan, which encourages people to separate the caps from plastic bottles, is an easy way to raise awareness of environmental issues, promote recycling, and to even raise money for less fortunate people around the world. Making a very small change in our daily lives can have a huge and lasting impact on our environment in the future.

It has been many years since Indonesia introduced the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” campaign. I think it’s time for us to make that slogan a part of our everyday lives.