Denise Stiady, Jadetimes staff
Denise Stiady is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Business News
Bandung earned the nickname “Paris of Java” for its colonial architecture and rich culture. Despite its beauty, the city suffers from poor waste management, which stems from governmental corruption and a lack of environmental awareness among its inhabitants.
Before the sun rises, the garbage collector drags a massive cart to collect trash from door to door. About 50 – 100 kilograms of garbage is pulled by a motorcycle - and sometimes by foot - to a temporary landfill. A massive truck then transports Bandung’s waste to the final landfill at Sarimukti, where it is all stacked and left to stew. This is the recycling system in Bandung. “The landfill has now exceeded 700% of its capacity,” said Lionard Sutandi, one of the Bank Sampah* Great Bandung committees.
As Indonesia's third most populated city, Bandung’s organic waste can reach up to 1,389 tons per day, according to data from the Regional Department of the Environment. Sixty percent of the trash in Sarimukti’s landfill is organic, whereas non-organic trash makes up 40%.
“The mountain of garbage at Sarimukti has created a river of leachate from the rain. This is very damaging to the environment and the habitation around Sarimukti,” said Sutandi. In August 2023, the landfill caught on fire because the concentrated level of methane gas ignited due to the hot weather season. It took two months to extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, the fire in Sarimukti is not the first trash catastrophe. On 21st February 2005, the landfill at Leuwi Gajah exploded because of the accumulation of methane gas. About 100 people died in that incident. Since then, 21st February has become the National Garbage Concern Day.
Ari Satria Bakti founded Ngadaur*, a non-profit organic waste management organisation in Bandung. Bakti faces his toughest test in developing Ngadaur. “The trash problem in Bandung is complex at different levels because of the government’s bureaucracy, corruption, bad recycling system, and lack of education given to Bandung people. For years, Bandung’s local government established an accumulate, transporting and throw-away system to deal with trash. There are no separations of organic, non-organic and recyclable waste,” said Bakti.
The government made a business out of waste management and created a tipping fee system. “The government owns the landfill and charges the households based on the weight of garbage that enters the landfill. The rate is about 62,000 rupiah (3.90 USD) per tonne. When you mix organic and non-organic waste, the weight becomes heavier, and the local government makes more money. That’s why the local government instructed the garbage collector to combine the trash,” said Bakti.
There is a rise in organisations that aim to fight and solve the problem of Bandung’s government’s waste management system. Bakti started Ngadaur from taking households’ trash to his home during Covid as there was a lack of space to collect the garbage. He then did research and development on the most sustainable way to reconstitute organic trash. Now, Ngadaur has a basecamp supplied by Saung Angklung* Ujo, a famous Angklung music group in Bandung.
So far, Bakti has found that using the black soldier fly’s maggots is the most sustainable way to recycle organic waste and turn it into fertiliser. The black soldier fly is a widespread fly species around the world. Even though it is categorised as a fly, it is not a pest like the common fly, as it does not have a functioning mouth organ. Therefore, it cannot bite or sting to transmit bacteria. The maggots from black soldier flies are also rich in minerals and protein, making them a good supplemental feeder for animals and even humans. “The black soldier fly is the most sustainable way to recycle organic waste. The maggots produce fertilisers that we can supply to farmers, and the maggots can be good animal feed.”
Other than Ngadaur, Bank Sampah Great Bandung handles organic and non-organic waste. They created a system where they pay the people who submit their non-organic trash to them. They started during Covid, when the economy was tough and many people had lost their jobs, especially the working class. “We train districts to separate their trash and recycle their organic waste at home using black soldier fly maggots or Takakura* composting. We collect non-organic trash and pay the households per kilo of trash we take. We then sell the trash to factories for repurposing,” said Sutandi.
Bank Sampah Great Bandung also collaborated with the State Bank of Indonesia (BNI). They opened bank accounts with zero administration fees for lower-income households. “It’s a big deal for them. A lot of the people who we opened bank accounts for come from a very poor background, and they feel intimidated just to enter a bank. We have a story where they took off their slippers before entering the bank because they thought a bank was an elite place,” said Sutandi.
Indonesia is a country with great inequality. Therefore, there are different approaches when it comes to waste management education. “The payment system works for the lower class because they need the money. For example, this area constitutes low-income households were very quick to collect the trash because they need the money. Meanwhile, the elite districts are trickier because they don’t need money and don’t mind paying more for their trash to be collected. With them, we need cooperation from the government and stricter laws, so they are forced to handle their garbage,” said Sutandi.
Ali Abdullah co-founded Warung 1000 Kebun*, an organic and zero-waste grocery store. He started the business to promote local farmers and healthy ingredients for Bandung’s households. He then found that zero-waste is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. “To live healthily, our food also has to enrich the ground and clear the air. That’s why we sell organic products that don’t use pesticides. We also teach people to grow their vegetables in a small garden. To grow vegetables, you need fertiliser, which you have to make from organic waste. This way, you will live sustainably and buy fewer products from the grocery store,” said Abdullah.
The fire at Sarimukti caused the government to be unable to pick up trash from houses for a few months. This led to increasing demands from citizens to have recycling training. Abdullah organised more workshops to educate households about separating and processing their trash. Abdullah also created group chats on WhatsApp after the workshops to act as a support group to maintain people’s recycling habits after the workshops. “People are usually very enthusiastic during the workshop. However, it’s hard to keep the habit after they go home. That’s why the group helps because they will exchange their progress and they motivate each other.”
Glossary:
Bank Sampah: Trash Bank
Ngadaur: A sundanese word meaning recycling.
Saung Angklung: House of Angklung.
Angklung: A traditional Indonesian music instrument made of bamboo.
Takakura: A composting method using a basket and cardboard box. Founded in Japan by Koji Takakura.
Warung 1000 Kebun: Store of 1000 Gardens
