Semarang official says mentoring of waste banks and empowering communities are key to the success of its waste management program.
There is no single solution in tackling the waste problem. However, addressing waste issues from upstream is an effective solution to significantly reduce waste volume going to landfills. Among them is the implementation of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Waste Management Center (TPS3R) and community participation.
In Pedalangan, Semarang City, the community had been sharing their landfill with other villages for decades before a TPS3R was built in August 2021. They use waste disposal services independently. Urbanward Community Empowerment Organization (LPMK) requested a waste disposal site to the mayor (TPS) in 2019.
“The city administration forwarded the residents’ request to the public works ministry, who inspected the location to be used for temporary waste disposal. The available land area is 4,250 m2, but 1,725 m2 has been used for the mosque. The rest is for the TPS,” explained the head of the Pedalangan Bersinar TPS3R Recipient and Beneficiary Group (KPP), Sasminto, when we met at the end of March.
The waste processing site was built on the north side of Tirtoagung Park, Pedalangan, Banyumanik District. The Rp600 million budget allocated for the site covered the physical construction of TPS3R and supporting facilities including a fleet of three-wheeled vehicles for transporting waste, waste shredders, and compost sifters.
However, the operational budget from the central government doesn’t guarantee the continuous operation of the waste center. Sasminto said, more than a few TPS3Rs in other cities eventually stalled. This is because they were highly dependent on the operational budget provided by the central government of Rp10 million-Rp13 million for the first three months.
When Sasminto realized that relying on the state budget would not be effective, he sought ways to ensure that the waste center he runs — does more than just survive.
The first step taken was to maximize the active role of the community in participating in TPS3R management. Then a persuasive approach was taken to convince 16 independent waste transportation operators to come on board. Despite some rejection from the operators because the wages offered were considered low — Rp1 million/month — the number of residents who joined TPS3R actually increased.
The dedication and work done in the first year after the waste center was established paid off. The initial members were 128 families, but now there are more than 300 families.
“There are 11 RWs in Pedalangan Village, but two already have TPS. Four RWs joined us and the other 5 RWs have not been handled, because we lacked fleets. I even lend my personal vehicle, which is usually used for tent rental operations, so that all the waste from 300 households can be collected,” said Sasminto.
Sasminto charged a Rp30,000/month fee for garbage collection every two days, much lower than the Rp50,000/month offered by independent operators. Meanwhile, the amount of fees applied to restaurant and cafe businesses varied from Rp50,000-Rp200,000/month, depending on the intensity of waste collection every day.
Not only is TPS3R able to charge a lower fee, but the proceeds from waste processing were reused for the community. There was also a cash-back scheme.
“We return 10 percent of the collection fee to each RT (neighborhood group). This money is usually allocated for social assistance such as medical assistance for underprivileged residents and orphan compensation,” he explained.
Strengthening community participation
Sasminto believes that maximizing long-term waste management requires innovation in addressing the problem at the source. To achieve this, he believes it is necessary to strengthen the surrounding community’s participation. Because if upstream management is successful, it can also reduce the transportation budget and the community can learn to calculate waste’s economic value.
Similarly, if waste is sorted at the source, subsequent handling becomes easier and not much must be transported to the final processing sites. That is why Sasminto firmly believes that revitalizing the environment’s role in upstream waste management is very strategic.
He also encourages the community to sort organic and inorganic waste before sending it to TPS3R. Currently, there is one RT that sorts waste independently. As a form of appreciation, residents in RT 5 RW 2 receive 12 percent cash-back every month.
Efforts to raise public awareness of waste management did not stop there. Sasminto and Ali Dulkamid (Secretary of TPS3R Pedalangan) also educated elementary school students on the importance of sorting waste early on.
“We believe that the habit of sorting waste from an early age is much more effective. Repetitive activities will shape their behavior into adulthood,” he added.
Waste from households and businesses transported to TPS3R reached 28.25 tons daily. Waste is sorted into organic and inorganic categories. For inorganic waste, as much as 11.384 tons daily is then sorted into waste that can be recycled and has a selling value, and other waste were sent to the landfill (TPA).
Meanwhile, 2.825 tons of organic waste were processed into compost and microbial feed. During the first six months of operation of TPS3R Pedalangan, the waste sent to landfill was only 10 percent. This means waste processing in this TPS3R can be 90 percent effective.
At that time, there were still 14 transporters and sorters. But this number dwindled in the ensuing months.
“We could no longer afford to pay salaries because the number of customers was not as large as it is now. For the first three months, Ali and I received no pay. This was so that the operational costs from the central government could be sufficient to pay the salaries of the employees — ranging from Rp 750 thousand to Rp 800 thousand per month,” Sasminto said.
On the other hand, many were misled when they heard of the opportunity to join the TPS3R — they assumed the waste facility was getting large funding from the central government.
Although Sasminto has a steady income from his tent rental business — Rp 100 million monthly, he did want the waste center to collapse. Occasionally he participated in picking up and sorting waste.
“I don’t want this TPS3R to stop operating. This TPS3R management concept should be replicated, because it is proven that there is a significant reduction in upstream waste of up to 90 percent,” he explained.
Sasminto and Ali joined heads and looked for ways to keep waste officers at TPS3R. Between the two of them, they found additional resources to pay the four waste officers. This was in addition to the salary received from residents’ contributions of Rp 1.5 million per month.
The additional source of income comes from the sale of inorganic waste that has been sorted and sold to collectors every two weeks. Each officer can get an additional Rp 500,000/month.
The TPS3R main revenue is from maggot sales — between Rp 1 million and Rp 2 million monthly. The sales of inorganic waste contribute only 10 percent to operational costs, while the rest is used to pay waste officers.
Sasminto adds that future TPS3R revenue will still rely on maggot cultivation in addition to other businesses such as fertilizer production, seed sales, and freshwater fish farming.
“Maggot cultivation can still be developed by adding large ponds. We are currently testing making liquid fertilizer from leachate or waste liquid droplets before distributing,” he continued.
Education on waste potential
Meanwhile, a professor of environmental engineering at Diponegoro University (Undip), Syafrudin explained that the lack of public awareness and limited waste management services contributed to suboptimal waste management. On the other hand, infrastructure and services in waste management are also not well managed.
“The community’s paradigm and behavior must change. Poor waste sorting habits at the household level contribute to waste problems,” he said.
Syafrudin said the potential for waste to become a resource must be optimized by the government. If this is done, it will reduce the accumulation of waste in the Jatibarang landfill, which now reaches more than 7 meters. It will also serve as a catalyst for the community’s economy.
However, he continued, more public awareness and education are needed on waste’s potential for it to become an economic and energy resource. He also revealed waste processing’s economic potential.
Based on a survey conducted by Syafrudin in 2019, the economic value of plastic waste based on the price of small stalls in Semarang City is more than Rp146 million per day. This amount is only limited to plastic waste, not metal waste and other types. So if properly sorted and sold, waste can be a catalyst for the community’s economy.
“I even conducted a small survey on the income of scavengers in Semarang City. They can get Rp150 thousand to Rp300 thousand per day from the waste they sort and sell, if totaled for one month their income can exceed the salary of a category four (E) civil servant,” he continued.
Chairman of the Indonesia Solid Waste Association (InSWA) Sri Bebassari explained that the challenges of the circular economy now revolve around waste sorting and recycling. Waste banks, for example, have only been effective in some areas. Waste banks are strongly influenced by residents’ activeness to sort waste in the local environment.
Separately, Rukuh Setiadi, a lecturer at Urban and Regional Planning of Diponegoreo University and the Bintari Foundation conducted research on waste under the PILAH program (Increasing Recycling and Collaboration in Waste Management), a program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), concluding that the construction of TPS3R and waste banks are two mainstay programs for local governments to achieve the target of reducing 30% of waste by 2025.
“Unfortunately, these two programs still encounter obstacles in their implementation. This leads to people becoming skeptical of waste sorting efforts, which are critical early steps in reducing waste sent to landfills,” said Rukuh.
Limited facilities at TPS3R and waste banks is also an issue. The Semarang administration, for example, seems overwhelmed in providing supporting facilities and infrastructure for waste banks. This includes warehouses, shredding machines, transportation fleets, and assistance in managing TPS3R facilities. In addition, waste management in the region is not running optimally because it is not handled by professionals and experts in the waste sector.
“Of the 28 TPS3R locations in Semarang, only four are professionally managed and operating well.”
Rukuh recommends several efforts to encourage community sorting activities in urban areas. The first step is to connect the TPS3R system to the household level. This can be done by, for example, providing assistance or subsidies (either fully or partially) for waste sorting stations at the household level, as well as carts with separate collection (organic and inorganic) from households to TPS3R, and separate transportation modes from TPS3R to the recycling industry.
Another critical effort is strengthening the skills and knowledge of TPS3R and waste bank operators, rather than simply providing facilities or equipment.
“The city government needs to commit to long-term mentoring so that TPS3R and waste banks can be independent and operate properly. For example, the city government can hire field assistants for recycling activities,” he explained.
Uptick in waste volume
Bambang Suranggono, head of Semarang City environment office said that the widespread Covid-19 case has affected waste volume in the city.
Based on data from the environment office, before the pandemic, waste production reached 1,437 tons per day. During the pandemic, or around the beginning of 2020, waste decreased to 900 tons per day.
But today, the waste produced by Semarang City residents is increasing again. The average waste disposed of in landfills reaches 1,110-1,150 tons per day. Of that amount, 15 to 17 percent is plastic waste.
In the Regional Strategy and Policy on Waste Management, Semarang City is targeted to reduce waste production by 30 percent. But it had only reduced by about 26 percent.
Suranggono explained that various relevant policies and initiatives have been launched to address waste management issues, such as a paid plastic bag program to minimize plastic waste, setting up special lanes for garbage trucks, and incorporating waste processing into the city’s energy project at the Jatibarang landfill.
Another effort is to empower waste banks. There are more than 500 waste bank pilots spread across 16 sub-districts in Semarang City. Of this number, by 2023, only 125 waste banks existed.
“This year there are 16 waste bank pilot projects, five of which are expected to become waste sorting sites,” said Suranggono.
These waste-sorting sites, says Suranggono, will pave the way for waste-sorting villages. Reduced waste is also expected to motivate the community to earn additional income from waste recycling activities. In an effort to provide incentives, the environmental office is also working to standardize the selling price of plastic waste. This is to achieve uniformity.
Suranggono appreciates the efforts of DoW Indonesia (a global material science company) in collaboration with the NGO Yayasan Bina Karta Lestari (Bintari) to organize a waste bank mentoring program with TPS3R as the backbone of recycling activities, as well as holding activities that encourage synergy and collaboration between stakeholders, ranging from the government, the community, especially actors in local waste banks, local and village governments, to entrepreneurs.
“Mentoring for waste banks and TPS3R is key to the Semarang City environment office’s flagship program in 2022, which is a circular economy implementation in upstream urban waste management,” said Bambang.
Read part one here.
