Indonesia's development towards becoming a modern country has encouraged the growth of industries from various services. Various companies from within and outside the country are increasingly building a rhythm of mass production. This means that these companies will continue to innovate products for the sake of business sustainability. The presence of product processing companies cannot be separated from the needs of various communities which are increasingly changing due to developments over time. The good condition of a company will have an impact on other aspects. This is a business process that will also benefit state revenues. Where the higher the sales of food products, the greater the country's income. The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) noted that from January to July 2023, the processing industry was still the industry with the largest contribution to tax revenues compared to other sectors. Ministry of Industry records show that the contribution of the processing industry reached 27.4% or Rp. 970.20 trillion in tax revenues (CNBCIndonesia, 2023).

The mushrooming of the processing industry does not necessarily mean that conditions will continue to be in positive euphoria. This is because the more the industry develops, the more it creates a crisis situation in environmental sustainability. In other words, the development of the product processing industry will create environmental problems that will increasingly be felt by humans. In general, environmental problems including global warming, deforestation, drought, rising sea levels, including the accumulation of plastic waste will be very detrimental to environmental conditions. Plastic waste is a type of waste that is considered difficult to decompose in natural processes (non-biodegradable), and is considered a xionebiotic pollutant, namely a pollutant that is not known in the biological system of the environment, resulting in pollutant compounds accumulating in nature (DITJEN PPKL KLHK, 2018).

This waste comes from the use of plastic food and drink packaging. Changes in the behavior patterns of urban communities, who now spend more time working, have also led to a reduction in cooking activities and a preference for fast food in plastic packaging. Therefore, it results in more and more waste piling up every year. In 2024, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) announced that waste generation throughout Indonesia will reach ± ​​25 million tons/year. Plastic waste is in 2nd place, contributing 18.6% (18,854) of the total waste generation. The largest contributor to waste generation is food waste with a percentage of 41.5% (42,035). Based on this data, it shows that plastic waste generation is predicted to continue to increase every year. Therefore, this is a very worrying condition considering that it will cause harm to the sustainability of the environment, society and the condition of Indonesia itself.

The picture of the accumulation of plastic waste shows that it is time to carry out mitigating and even reducing behavior. This is needed so that environmental sustainability is maintained amidst uncertain conditions in the future. But if it is carried out with strong commitment and belief it will help make everyone involved more motivated. One behavior that is interesting and simple but can make a significant contribution to reducing the accumulation of plastic waste is pro-environmental behavior. This type of behavior is now one solution to encourage people to participate in protecting and being responsible for the environment. Xiao et al., (2022) said that pro-environmental behavior is a solution to environmental problems that must be instilled in people. Pro-environmental behavior is known as pro-environmental behavior. Pro-environmental behavior is an action taken by a person to minimize, mitigate, and actively assist in restoring environmental damage (Anderson & Krettenauer, 2021).

Pro-environmental behavior can be carried out by anyone, such as governments, institutions, communities and individuals. Implementing pro-environmental behavior can be done in various ways, including disposing of plastic waste in its proper place, selecting and sorting types of waste, reducing plastic packaging products, using cloth bags, tumblers, and so on. Interestingly, pro-environmental behavior will be more effective when implemented by individuals. In addition, pro-environmental behavior carried out by individuals does not require a lot of costs or can minimize costs incurred by policy makers in dealing with plastic waste. This behavior will be very easy to carry out when someone has awareness, knowledge and understands the condition of environmental damage. On the other hand, it will be very difficult to implement for other people who do not have this aspect. This will be a challenge for everyone who wants to make behavior changes that are more concerned about the environment. Supporting steps are needed so that pro-environmental behavior can be carried out optimally. The alternative is to utilize information and communication technology (ICT) through the use of the internet. The internet has been used widely and massively to facilitate communication and dissemination of information to promote pro-environmental behavior (Xiao et al., 2022).

The presence of the internet opens up opportunities for information seeking behavior by the general public. This means that the information obtained comes from a person's desire to know various developments regarding environmental problems, starting from damage, causes, impacts and what behavior is needed. A study conducted by Xiao et al., (2022) states that the important role of the internet in increasing pro-environmental behavior lies in the individual's ability to provide and disseminate environmental information. Positive internet use can influence individual pro-environmental behavior. Other findings divide into two types of pro-environmental behavior, namely personal pro-environmental behavior and public pro-environmental behavior. The results show that both types of pro-environmental behavior are influenced by internet use. Therefore, it can be said that the use of the internet for the purpose of disseminating pro-environmental behavior will be increasingly effective. The level of effectiveness in disseminating environmental information has an impact on the stimulation of the people who receive the information. Using the internet as a source of information is considered very important in disseminating environmental issues because it can increase environmental knowledge and increase a person's willingness to engage in pro-environmental behavior (Karimi et al., 2021). In addition, Xiao et al., (2022) said that successful use of the internet can strengthen social connections between individuals in supporting pro-environmental behavior movements.

-Rosmalia Ahmad & Diana Anggraeni

References

Anderson, D. J., & Krettenauer, T. (2021). Connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviour from early adolescence to adulthood: A comparison of urban and rural Canada. Sustainability, 13(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073655

CNBCIndonesia. (2023). Industri Sumbang Penerimaan Negara Terbesar, Ini Sebabnya. Www.Cnbcindonesia.Com. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20230727023010-4-457650/industri-sumbang-penerimaan-negara-terbesar-ini-sebabnya

DITJEN PPKL KLHK. (2018). “Mengurangi Penggunaan Tas Belanja Plastik Sekali Pakai.” Ppkl.Menlhk.Go.Id. https://ppkl.menlhk.go.id/website/reduksiplastik/02_doc.php#:~:text=Sampah plastik merupakan salah satu,pencemar yang tidak dikenal oleh

Karimi, S., Liobikienė, G., Saadi, H., & Sepahvand, F. (2021). The Influence of Media Usage on Iranian Students’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors: An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. Sustainability, 13(15), 8299. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158299

Xiao, Y., Liu, X., & Ren, T. (2022). Internet Use and Pro-Environmental Behavior: Evidence from China. PLOS ONE, 17(1), e0262644. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262644