Waste Sorting from Households in Wonosidi Village

Summary

This home country project held in Wonosidi village Pacitan Regency East Java province of Indonesia started from November 1^st, 2019 up to January 6^th, 2020. Its goal is to segregate waste in every house onto 11 categories, from the first time on the first place it has been produced. Its aim is to put all leftovers of human consumption into circular economy. It led by Webri Veliana, the CEO/Founder of Greenwave NGO (a waste management and environmental preservation non-profit organization) as one of 25 delegations of Australia Awards Indonesia for “Tackling Marine Pollution Issues through Recycling” Short Term Award.

The project involved 122 volunteers, 737 of 1,139 (64%) representatives of households, 2 Villages leaders (the prior and the new one) and 5 hamlet leaders, 9 Village’s Council members, 2 shops, 2 schools and one delegation of Australia Awards Indonesia. It performed 44 workshops, 50 pre-workshop meetings and regulation making. It produced 737 sorting infrastructures, 1 Environmental Workers Group, 1 Village’s Regulation about Waste Management System, 7 Waste Banks and 3 recycling businesses.

In sort, this project generated a holistic, simple, and effective waste management system called “The Greenwave Method” which can be easily replicated in other places across Indonesia with minimal adjustment.

Introduction

Wonosidi is a rural village which is out of service of waste transportation truck from the Environmental Agency of Pacitan regency. The nearest municipal landfill is over 40 km away.  Wonosidi village requires an effective and efficient zero waste system which enable the village to do not relays on the landfill but to recycling facilities.

This project is emphasizing Waste Sorting/Segregation from households because it is the most fundamental process and the hardest one on waste management and circular economy. It solves the waste problem straight to the root. It is the simplest and easiest method to be replicated across Indonesia .The goal of this project is to segregate waste starting from its first producers into 11 categories which are organic and an-organics consist of hard plastic, soft plastic, paper, glass, fabric, metal, rubber, electronic, hazardous and residual. By optimize the segregation, other processes will be run easily.

To ensure the goal works sustainable, our organization shall attain 3 (three) objectives:

1. To install “waste sorting bags/containers” as the basic infrastructure in at least 75% of houses in Wonosidi village.
2. To train residents of Wonosidi village to sort/segregate their household waste into 11 categories.
3. To be Graduated in GlobalGiving Accelerator September 2019 to provide initial tools to build up Waste. Management System in Wonosidi village.

The Approach Taken

THE GREENWAVE METHOD

In order to start the process effectively and to keep the waste sorting sustainable in the future, we have been developing 7 Ps bellow and customized it under Wonosidi circumstance:

1. Purpose

Purpose of this project is to develop mindful-consumption habits and to put all leftovers of human consumption into circular economy in Wonosidi village.

2. People

The project enables every resident to participate on the waste management system through education (44 workshops), repetition/daily practice of waste sorting at home, law enforcement (regulation/peraturan desa number 004/2019), and Environmental Worker Group (Manggala Wonosidi).

3. Process

Whole processes of the system are waste prevention, sorting/segregation, collection, recycling and marketing, e-waste management, hazardous waste management, residual management, liquid waste management, gases waste management, and prohibitions.

4. Peripheral

This method requires Waste Sorting Bags/Containers in every house (total 737  houses per January 6^th, 2020, the number will keep growing until all houses poses this basic infrastructure), waste bank at least one per hamlet (total 7 waste banks for 5 hamlets), recycling units including recycling tools (pyrolysis machine, sewing machine and few more) and marketing tools (oil buckets, mobile phone, camera and light box, et cetera).

5. Products

The method encourages people to recycle organics, hard plastic, soft plastic, paper, metal, rubber, fabric, glass, used oils and gasses to create useful and economically-valued products.

6. Passion

The method encourages people to engage on regular workshops or regular meeting of Manggala Wonisidi (local Environmental Workers Group for Each Village), or on virtual meeting during social distancing.

7. Progress

The method encourages people to perform waste sorting, distribution and recycling in any situation, condition and circumstance. The progress shall be shown on administrative and visual records.

Results

Main results:

1. 737 of 1,139 Houses in Wonosidi village installed  Sorting Bags/Containers Set  per January 6^th, 2020
2. 44 of total workshops to consist of once PKK’s monthly meeting, 5 hamlets and waste sorting training/workshops in 37 RT/Neighbourhoods.
3. USD 115 donation from GlobalGiving Accelerator September 2019 to create extra-mile number 4.

Extra-miles:

1. 1 Pre-establishment of Manggala Wonosidi as Environmental Workers Group of Wonosidi village, consist of 122 members.
2. 1 Peraturan Desa (Village’s regulation) number 005 of 2019 about Waste Management System in Wonosidi Village.
3. 7 Waste Banks for 5 hamlets in Wonosidi Village.
4. 1 simple pyrolysis machine.
5. 1 batch of fuel and pellets from soft plastic recycling.
6. 1 batch of laundry soap bars and bio-fuel from used cooking oil recycling
7. 1 batch of compost from organic kitchen waste recycling.
8. 1 cat bed from recycling clean used baby nappies.

Learnt Lessons and Sustainability

Lessons Learnt:

1. “Surat Edaran” cannot become reference for “Peraturan Desa”. It shall be a “Peraturan Menteri/Peraturan Pemerintah”.
2. Peraturan desa cannot regulate schools in the village. Meanwhile, educate student about waste sorting/segregation is very important. It will be better if Ministry of Environment and Forestry can approach Ministry of Education to put waste sorting/segregation in to mandatory subject in every school in Indonesia.
3. Waste sorting/segregation from household simplified Waste Management process.
4. The old “Grubyug sapen” phenomena found in the project. If there is no place do it, other places will ignore. If one area wants to start, other place will follow. Key lesson is to focus to one area, make it successful, and other will follow.
5. To make the implementation of Waste sorting/segregation easy and sustainable, it shall be incorporated with other process which further tailored become “The Greenwave Method^” waste management system.

Plan to sustain the project into future:

1. To enable Wonosidi village become a Circular Economy Village as a supporting place to implement/teach and and learn effective waste management system for everyone.
2. To perform similar project in suburb and urban/city areas to improve the Greenwave Method^..
3. To replicate “the Greenwave Method^” waste management system in every village in Indonesia if possible.

Reference:

Australia Waste Policy;

Bob Proctor, Paradigm Shift;

Marie Kondo, the life-changing magic of tidying up;

Philip Kottler, Marketing Management;

Ray Dalio, Principles;

Surat Edaran Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Republik Indonesia kepada Gubernur, Bupati, dan Walikota se-Indonesia Nomor S.5/MENLHK/PSLB3/PLB.0/10/2019 tentang Gerakan Nasional Pilah Sampah dari Rumah;

Undang-undang nomor 18 tahun 2008 tentang pengelolaan sampah;

5S Japan (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustainable).