The Denpasar administration is planning to establish garbage banks in every village in the city, aiming at creating a clean and healthy environment, as well as contributing toward the province’s efforts to manage waste.
“We now have 23 garbage banks in Denpasar. We target having one in every village,” Denpasar Mayor Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijawa Mantra said after attending the city’s anniversary celebration Thursday.
“Garbage banks have been proven effective in helping residents manage waste and live healthily, and they also result in financial benefits,” he said.
Mantra said the banks would have to be managed properly and established in suitable locations where they did not disturb residents. “The administration will fully support residents who can offer useful ideas to develop garbage banks.”
One creative idea on waste management has been shown by Sanur residents in South Denpasar. There, people produce oil from plastic garbage and use it as fuel in cremation ceremonies.
“Garbage is a problem in every city with a high population. With such creative ideas, residents can help the administration tackle the problems waste causes to the environment,” the mayor said as quoted by Antara news agency.
The city produces around 2,700 cubic meters of garbage per day, however, Denpasar Sanitation and Parks Agency secretary Dewa Anom Sayoga said that the administration only owned 35 dump trucks — 12 of which had been provided by the province.
He said that the city required at least 90 garbage trucks to carry waste to the Suwung dump site (TPA). The shortage in vehicles meant drivers had to go back and forth several times a day, he added.
In 2011, the agency recorded Denpasar as having at least 1.1 million cubic meters of waste, with only slightly more than half transported to the TPA.
The city has for the third time failed in its bid to win the prestigious Adipura award for the cleanest city due to this problem.
However, the problem of waste is not only found in the city. A similar phenomenon can be seen in the villages as well. Bali Environmental Agency’s division head for monitoring and control, Komang Ardana, said that villages outside Denpasar produced up to 4,300 cubic meters of waste per day, and none of it was collected by the agency.
Garbage banks are considered the best initiative to curb this issue. Mantra hoped that the city’s anniversary could serve as momentum for residents to do better for Denpasar, especially since the challenges were getting tougher.
“We cannot solve all problems alone, we need the people to help.”
The garbage bank initiative has also been the option chosen in Yogyakarta. Drajad Ruswandono, Yogyakarta Environmental Agency head, said in Denpasar recently that residents had started to stop discarding trash after garbage management communities were initiated.
In 2005, Drajad said, Yogyakarta produced up to 150,000 tons of waste, which dropped to around 111,000 tons by 2010 thanks to the 150 garbage bank communities in the province.
Gemah Ripah garbage bank was the pioneer in Yogyakarta. It is located in Bantul regency and was established by Bambang Suwerda, a health lecturer, in 2008.
Similar to normal banks, garbage bank customers deposit their trash, however, segregated into three types: plastic, paper and cans or bottles. The “teller” weighs the garbage and records the amount to calculate the money owed to the customer.
Garbage bank workers periodically sell the waste to junk collectors, who value the items customers deposit. The bank takes a cut of 15 percent or 30 percent from the cash paid to individuals and communities for operational expenses.
(Source: The Jakarta Post)
(Source: The Jakarta Post)