Participants discuss their environment
At 09.00 WITA, the meeting took place in the meeting hall of the Yehembang Kauh Village Headquarters Office as one of the agendas in the Post-Pandemic Recovery program for COVID-19 through the Permaculture Approach for Sustainable Livelihoods. Putu Bawa, our Senior Program Officer, opened this event and moderated the entire session. I Komang Darmawan, the village headman, said that the meeting that day was a collaboration/coordination regarding waste organized by the village government of Yehembang Kauh in collaboration with us.
“Most of the waste piles in Yehembang Kauh Village are generated by migrants, who work & live temporarily in the village. Some throw trash in the forest, some throw fruit in the fields,” he said.
According to him, the waste management carried out by local villagers is good enough with more severe segregation. Organic waste, for example, is easier to deal with because most residents have large yards to dispose of. In this way, of course, waste can quickly decompose. It’s just that there is still the burning of inorganic waste as a solution for some households.
“Permaculture may see this problem as a solution,” said Fajar Kurniawan, the Program Manager. This single waste topic is an opportunity to gather together and share stories in seeing opportunities to form collaboration.
Concern for the waste issue needs to reach all levels of society. This issue escalated in the run-up to the G20 Summit held in November last year. Bali is said to be one of the provinces that produce a lot of waste, not only organic waste but also plastic waste.
In 2019, research presented data on waste production in Bali, which reached 4,281 tons per day, and 11 percent of it flowed into the sea. The data was obtained by the Bali Partnership, which was conveyed at a meeting at the Bali Governor’s Office on 20 June 2019.
The Bali Partnership is a cross-actor collaboration supported by the Government of Norway to address the problem of plastic waste in Bali. In this partnership are Udayana University, Leed University, England, the Provincial Government of Bali, and the consulting firm Systemiq. An article by Anton Muhajir via the online media Mongabay complements other data. It was stated that in 2019 the type of waste produced in Bali consisted of 60 percent organic waste, 20 percent plastic waste, 11 percent paper, 2 percent iron, 2 percent glass, and 5 percent others.
Vika Azkiya Dihni, through the media Katadata, borrowed data from Sungai Watch, which has presented the results of reports of 333,336 kilograms of inorganic waste between October 2020 and December 2021 throughout Bali. The majority is plastic waste, namely as much as 89 percent.
We responded to this situation with concrete steps in the western part of Bali, Jembrana. This time, shared concern for the waste problem in Yehembang Kauh Village and its surroundings became the main topic of discussion. For example, consuming disposable products made from plastic is still a daily habit for most of us.
Waste management deserves the attention of all groups, including increasing tourist attraction. This activity aims to build awareness of this while learning about waste management systems that other villages, including the challenges, have implemented.
Two 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) Waste Treatment Sites are mentioned in the discussion, namely TPS3R Alam Sari in Yehembang Village and TPS3R in Penyaringan Village. Even though 300 families are customers using TPS3R Alam Asri, the profits they get are still losing money at 74 million rupiahs. Even though operational funds in a year reach 144 million, as stated by Gusti Putu Sudiartayasa, the Director of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) for Yehembang Village. “Waste must be viewed positively as a business potential that can generate profits,” continued the administrator of TPS3R Alam Asri, I Wayan Sukerta.
Apart from discussing the effectiveness of waste management, operational funds regarding this matter need to be reviewed. One of the representatives from the Village Consultative Body (BPD) Yehembang Kauh then expressed his aspirations, “What if the operational funds were taken from social funds and not business funds?”
One of the teachers from Yehembang Kauh Elementary School 1, I Gede Agus Adi, also welcomed the discussion. He stated that the entire community where he teaches had sorted waste but still needed to be TPS3R customers.
“The cost per month is in the range of 20-50 thousand rupiah per month. So for the sake of cleanliness and health, the cost is not too burdensome,” said I Gede Wirajana, a Community Empowerment Institute (LPM) representative.
Community habits, especially for students in schools, are of particular concern. Most participants stated that waste education must be ensured early, especially in elementary school.
One of the participants shared his experience in recycling waste
Towards Integrated Waste Management
Residents’ interest in collecting waste at TPS3R Alam Sari underwent a long process. The village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) of Yehembang Village once held a competition with prizes of 3 million rupiahs for the residents who collected the most waste for the plastic bag type. Village waste regulations are another supporting factor, followed by counseling outreach to residents in each banjar. In the neighboring village, there are still people who don’t know the flow of waste management. For example, as stated by one of the representatives from the Yeh Buah Traditional Village Pokdarwis, “After it is sorted, we don’t know yet, where should the waste be sent?” Such problems are often encountered.
The discussion, which consisted of 36 participants, was even more exciting, one after the other, unraveling each other’s problems. I Gusti Kade Dwiartana, the administrator of TPS3R Alam Asri, contributed his aspirations. He said that the understanding regarding waste among extension workers was still different. This confused residents who received the socialization. On the other hand, there is a tendency for each citizen to have a different level of understanding when they receive socialization.
“TPS3R Alam Asri distributes new sacks to customers as their trash bins. But customers always replace them with used sacks, so they tear easily, and TPS3R has to buy new sacks more often,” he said.
Unlike TPS3R in Yehembang Village, which has been running for about a year, TPS3R in Penyaringan Village has only been running for about three months. Of the 13 banjar in Penyaringan Village, only seven banjar have become customers of TPS3R Filing Village, with the most types of customers being households and small trading businesses such as restaurants, stalls, and shops.
“TPS3R has distributed two sacks to each customer. One sack for organic waste and one sack for inorganic waste,” he explained.
The use of sacks distributed has yet to be utilized according to the type of waste. According to I Gede Wirajana, residents still haven’t sorted waste effectively. “So when it arrives at TPS3R, we must sort again,” he added later. However, the Pokdarwis of Yeh Buah Traditional Village glanced at the readiness and desire to sort this out. Through this information, they wanted to make unique sacks for residents with the words ‘POKDARWIS’.
There are many pros and cons to this occasion. For example, some participants said burning plastic waste is helpful for garden fumigation. Even though some disagree, differences of opinion need as material for their reflections.
The day is already noon. I Komang Darmawan, agree that the discussion on 24 February 2023 was a lesson for many parties. There are many things to consider for Yehembang Kauh Village in establishing TPS3R in the future. The government of Yehembang Kauh Village has great concern regarding waste management and already has strategic plans as we advance. But before the physical building for waste management is built, public awareness about waste must be sought first by us.
“The volume of waste in Yehembang Kauh Village is still small because there are no traditional/modern markets. From the business analysis, it is unsuitable for setting up TPS3R, which is no profit. The scenario is to make Perdes and Perarem. Coordination with traditional villages as soon as possible needs to be executed in this process,” he said.
While TPS3R in Yehembang Kauh Village has yet to exist, collaborating with TPS3R in Yehembang Village is the most feasible measure. Putu Bawa then called for follow-up meetings to discuss this, including a work plan for formulating Village Regulations (Perdes) and Perarem.
Article: Nicolaus Sulistyo
Photo: I Putu Parta Adiguna © IDEP Foundation
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