A study says maggots can decompose organic waste up to 80% of its weight. The center uses maggots to reduce waste while generating revenue.
It was late in the afternoon and the sun is scorching. Sasminto took off his shirt and, wearing only shorts, rushed to the four-by-two square meter area behind the Pedalangan Bersinar Waste Management Center (TPS3R) in Banyumanik, Semarang City, Central Java.
Once there, the middle-aged man churned out the contents of some containers containing food waste gathered from dozens of cafes and restaurants in the city. This organic waste was then fed to maggots.
Maggot is the larva of the black soldier fly (BSF) which is commonly used as fish and poultry feed.
According to a study by Dortmans B. et al in the journal “Black Soldier Fly Biowaste Processing: A Step-by-Step Guide”, the decomposition of organic waste by maggots can reduce the weight of waste by up to 80%.
Maggots thrive on household organic waste, vegetable waste, and other organic waste. Meanwhile, organic waste remains that are not eaten by maggots can be used as poultry feed.
Because of this, Sasminto decided to raise chickens and ducks. The proceeds from the sale of these poultry can be used to increase employee incentives during Eid.
For more than two years, maggot cultivation has provided additional revenue for TPS3R, which stands in a 220-square-meter building. Although he is the head of the TPS3R Pedalangan Recipient and Beneficiary Group (KPP), Sasminto does not hesitate to get involved directly. In fact, he manages maggot cultivation alone.
“Who else would want to do things like this? We don’t have the manpower. We only have a workforce of four people who focus on the transport and separation of waste,” said Sasmito, who also owns a business renting out tents and wedding party equipment, when we met him last March.
Sasminto said that maggot cultivation came out of TPS3R’s concern they could not sell compost. At that time, compost production from organic waste could reach 1 ton. Government agencies, which should be the biggest consumers, refused, claiming the compost had not passed through laboratory quality tests.
Such tests do not come cheap, as testing just one variable could cost Rp 250,000 at a state university laboratory in Semarang. The center has no funding allocated for such tests.
“We then halted the compost fertilizer production and only sold it based on orders. Usually, they are sold as a package with fruit plant seedlings,” he added.
After compost production stopped, Sasminto thought and looked for ways to utilize organic waste from cafes and restaurants. He searched the internet for information and found a maggot cultivation tutorial.
Sasminto received a free offer to learn maggot cultivation at the Jatibarang landfill. The empty land that was once used to accommodate waste was transformed into a BSF house and maggot cultivation.
Not only labor, but Sasminto was also willing to spend his personal money to build BSF cages and maggot bio pond shelves. All of which proved to be a fruitful investment for this former Covid-19 Task Force member. Sasminto said the demand for maggots was increasing while the center produced up to 1 ton per week. One of the demands came from Batang laying-hen farmers.
“We could only produce up to 1 ton and that is enough to sell to the maggot seller community or commonly called parang,” he said.
One kilogram of maggot is sold to a reseller for Rp5,000/kg and normally fetches Rp10,000 per kilogram.
Maggots can feed fish, livestock, and birds. Even maggot skin or vulva cocoons can be ground into flour pellets for Rp7,000-Rp8,000/kg.
“We could harvest the maggots daily but we can’t because our manpower is limited. Our orientation here does not revolve around the maggot business, but around the reduction of waste,” he said.
He deemed that maggot cultivation offered a promising solution to waste problems, especially since there were so many cafes and restaurants in the Pedalangan ward of Semarang. The Pedalangan TPS3R now has 35 partners that provide food waste to the center.
Because it decomposes organic waste by 80 percent, maggot cultivation is an efficient solution. Moreover, organic waste from 300 households and 35 restaurants/cafes can reach 2,825 kg per day.
“It’s safe to say that there is no organic waste here that is not utilized. Maggot cultivation also does not require capital, because the feed is from rotten vegetables and fruits, restaurant and cafe waste. This is why the TPS3R here is among the most productive,” added Sasminto.
TPS3R Pedalangan is one of five active TPS3R sites in Semarang City. There are 25 TPS3R locations in the city. However, only TPS3R Pedalangan is managed by a cooperative (KPP) and is a legal entity.
Meanwhile, the Semarang City environment office also uses maggots to reduce organic waste at the Jatibarang landfill. Joko Hartono, manager and developer of maggot in the Jatibarang landfill, explained that one kilogram of maggot can consume between 3 and 5 kilograms of organic waste.
The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) produces eggs that turn into larvae, more commonly known as maggots. These maggots are cultivated at the Pedalangan TPS3R center in Banyumanik, Semarang City. (suaramerdeka.com/Hartatik)
Raising maggots is simple, does not need water or electricity, and can be done at various scales — from the home industry to mid, and even large industries.
Wahyu Heryawan, who heads the Jatibarang landfill management said that maggots were unique animals that can munch around the clock and eat up to twice its weight. It can finish everything, even when fed five times a day
“Maggot cultivation should be done in all landfills, temporary and final. They breed fast, are simple to cultivate, do not pose any problems, and have high economic value,” he said.
Read part two here.