Garbage is more frequently associated with urban problems, such as flood and congestion. This assumption will narrow the area of waste management in this country.
By
Linda Christanty
·6 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
Linda Christanty
Based on data from the Home Ministry in 2022, the number of cities in Indonesia was only 98, while the villages were 74,961, more than 700 times compared to the city. Managing village waste is clearly crucial. Big cities like Jakarta are surrounded, even consisting of a group of villages or kampungs.
At the end of 2022, the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry involved me in writing about village waste, which was associated with the use of village funds. I went to Jatipuro village in Central Java to see first-hand the management of garbage there. Jatipuro consists of nine hamlets and is one of 18 villages in Trucuk district, Klaten regency. The success of Jatipuro in processing organic and inorganic garbage is important to document even though some of the problems there require a solution.
The Jatipuro Garbage Dump (TPS) is located in Gesing Hamlet, not far from the village office. Its name is TPS 3R Maju Jaya. Three-R is an abbreviation for reuse, reduce and recycle.
The green building stands on village-owned land, near the rice field area. Three women sorted trash in that place from Monday to Saturday. Five men were in charge of lifting garbage from house to house to be transported by car to the building. These eight workers were paid with residents' garbage contributions.
Garbage entering the building did not only come from a house in nine Jatipuro hamlets, but also from 60 houses in Sabranglor, another village. All of that household waste was from around 1,400 families. More than 1 tonne of garbage was sorted and processed every day in this place. Every three days the residue waste was taken to the Final Disposal Site (TPA) in Troketon village, about 30 minutes from Jatipuro.
Erning, one of the workers, likened the TPS to a shopping center. She found clothes or shoes that could still be worn, fresh milkfish, biscuits that were still crisp and money. However, Yuliana said, there was also grief in working there. She was surprised to see a dead mouse full of maggots. Erning was annoyed to see a baby's diaper with feces in it.
I can pay the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) contributions to four of my family members and electricity costs every month.
Yuliana said her wages were not much, but she liked to do useful things for the community. She received a direct cash assistance (BLT) for a year of Rp 300,000 (US$19.94) per month. "I can pay the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) contributions to four of my family members and electricity costs every month," she said.
Inorganic waste, such as plastic and glass bottles, was also cleaned at this TPS for sale. Organic waste, such as leaves or materials that can rot, were chopped with a chopper, then fermented for 21 days. After being sifted until smooth, organic fertilizer is ready to be sold. The obstacle was that this TPS had not been able to market organic fertilizer regularly.
Tulus Nugroho, Jatipuro Village head, said he had written to the regent to help TPS. He imagined, "If every village in Klaten allocates a budget of Rp 500,000 to buy organic fertilizer from village funds that range between Rp 800 million and Rp 1 billion, then the TPS can live and not stop in the middle of the road."
Many villages have parks so they can use organic fertilizer. According to Tulus, most farmers choose inorganic fertilizer because in a year there can be four harvests, compared to using organic fertilizer, in which there are only two. Organic fertilizer is safe for the soil, nature and humans, but is still considered less profitable.
In the past TPS 3R Maju Jaya had raised maggots from fly larvae, organic waste eaters. The farm stopped after the workers were unable to handle two jobs at once, grinding garbage and raising maggots.
Eka Yulianti, the wife of the Jatipuro Village chief, was the initiator of TPS. She was the head of the Family Welfare Development Team (PKK).
"Before there was the TPS, PKK housewives were active in the garbage bank. They collected inorganic waste for sale," Eka said in our conversation. Two hamlets are still running the garbage bank until now, while the organic waste is sent to the TPS.
One day, Eka wrote a letter to the village chief, proposing the making of TPS so that organic waste could be processed. The village chief asked for help from the Klaten Environment Agency (DLHK). The construction of the TPS took place in 2018. A year later, the TPS was operating.
Challenges always exist. The chopping machine at TPS 3R Maju Jaya had a small capacity, thereby heating quickly and stopping every hour. As a result, garbage piled up and could not be processed in a day. Eka hoped that there would be greater capacity engine assistance.
Before there was the TPS, PKK housewives were active in the garbage bank. They collected inorganic waste for sale.
In his office in Gergunungvillage, Himawan Pamungkas, the head of DLHK Waste Management Division, explained that his institution funded the construction of 14 TPS in 2018, as well as financing their human resources for a certain time and the purchase of equipment. Waste sorting at the TPS reduces the residue (garbage that is not decomposed) in the landfill. However, residue still continues to increase. TPA land will shrink. How to overcome it?
"Residues can actually be decomposed with technology," said Himawan. There are residues that can be used by the generator for power plants. There are capsules to melt concrete. There is a liquid waste treatment tool to produce drinking water that is safe to be thrown into the river. One of the DLHK staff members, Wisnumurti, remembered he had seen a disposable baby diaper change into grains of sand. The cost of making residue-decomposing equipment should be supported by the government.
Clean blue sky was seen from the TPS 3R Maju Jaya land. The smell of garbage was not too pungent. Sri and Erning showed me clothing made of recycled-waste material. Certainly not for daily use. Maybe in the fashion world it is called haute couture, adibusana.
LINDA CHRISTANTY, Woman of letters and cultural activist
