REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government is discussing ways to reduce plastic waste. Beside that, the government also is considering a plan to impose sanctions and disincentives on the use of plastics, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said here on Friday.

"The discussion covers the gradual reduction of plastic waste, including the application of technology to reduce plastic waste," he said.

A call for the reduction of plastic waste in the country has resurfaced after the carcass of a 9.5-meter-long sperm whale was found washed ashore the Kapota isle, Wakatobi District, Southeast Sulawesi, on November 19. Nearly 5.9 kilograms of plastic waste were found in the whale's stomach.

The giant mammal had ingested 750 grams of 115 plastic cups, 140 grams of 19 hard plastic, 150 grams of four plastic bottles, 260 grams of 25 plastic bags, six pieces of wood weighing 740 grams, two flip-flops of 270 grams, a 200-gram nylon sack, and over a thousand pieces of raffia string weighing 3,260 grams, Laode Ahyar, an official of the Wakatobi National Park, informed an Antara correspondent in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, on November 20, 2018.