Projects starts with waste data gathering and analysis and waste bank training in Tasikmalaya - Private and public sector participation encouraged in a follow-up waste management seminar in Jakarta
EKONID successfully implemented its waste management project in 2018. Starting in the middle of 2018, EKONID, in cooperation with lecturers and students of Siliwangi University, successfully conducted a waste composition analysis at the Ciangir Landfill in Tasikmalaya, West Java, before following through with a seminar on opportunities for public and private sector cooperation in municipal waste management in Jakarta on August 15. Supported by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the program is expected to provide solutions to waste management issues in Indonesia.
During the first phase of the project in Tasikmalaya this year, the team initially conducted an initial over ground assessment of the landfill samples of the landfill鈥檚 leachate water, which would be sent to a testing facility later on. Subsequently the project team took out a total of 7% of the 180 tons of municipal trash that end up in the Ciangir Landfill every day. The goal was to sort the waste and separate the different organic and inorganic components. The final data of the analysis was then given to German recycling technology expert who would then develop a concept for a sorting facility on the landfill in Tasikmalaya.
During the separation of around 12 tons of waste, the importance of separating trash already before it reaches the landfill in order to reduce and recycle waste efficiently became particularly clear. Therefore EKONID organized an intensive three-day training on waste separation at the household level that took place from the July 23-25. The training was held in the Agriculture Vocational School of Tasikmalaya, alongside of experienced trainers from the Central Waste Bank Banjarmasin and experts from smash.id, an online waste bank application provider.
Some 40 people participated in the training, hailing from stakeholder units such as waste bank units and the 3R waste treatment facilities (TPS 3R). Some environmental activists and other interested inhabitants of the local neighborhood and community also joined the event.
Students and lecturers from Siliwangi University, as well as German experts and EKONID staffers, presented the results to the local city government of Tasikmalaya, as well as other key stakeholders on August 13. The data report is supposed to suggest a suitable solution considering waste management at the Ciangir landfill and aims at guiding the future development of a technology-based concept. Furthermore, the involved participants and trainers have summarized a list of recommendations for waste reduction that will be followed up by the local government of Tasikmalaya.
In a follow-up effort to the project, EKONID held a forum on waste management involving several key stakeholders. Held in Ayana Midplaza Jakarta on August, more than 70 people attended the seminar, including staffers from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), the Jakarta Environmental Agency, the Ministry of Public Works, as well as managing directors and chairpersons from the private sector and non-governmental organizations.
Due to the complex nature of waste management, which may be attributed to the unique social and cultural characteristics of where such projects are being conducted, it is little wonder that the forum would be well received as it ensures that the interest of all stakeholders are taken into account. The forum covered numerous aspects of waste management, from technology to financing, all of which were appreciated by the participants.
Mr. Ujang Solihin Sidik, Head of Waste Management Sub-Directorate at the KLHK, said he appreciated the forum鈥檚 discussion on financing, which he considers to be a persistent problem in waste management in Indonesia. Mr. Asep Kuswanto, Head of Technical Implementation for Landfills at the Jakarta Environmental Agency, said the forum helped him greatly as the city administration is currently planning to use Refuse-Derived Fuel, or RDF technology, to solve its waste issue. Mr. Simon Gotz, Area Manager Asia & Middle East at WEHRLE Umwelt GmbH, a company that specializes in treating wastewater, also expressed his appreciation to EKONID for holding the forum as waste water could prove to be a serious problem for the country if left untreated.
Ms. Katharina Dellbruegger, Project Officer of Export Initiative Environmental Technologies from the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), which is EKONID鈥檚 main headquarter in Berlin, said she was encouraged by the enthusiastic reception of the participants of the forum and of the project in general.
鈥淔or me it鈥檚 a pleasure to see everyone so interested. I have a feeling here, and in Tasikmalaya, that the interest is huge not only from the municipalities but also from the companies. And I think we saw already some very good best practices from Indonesian companies and I鈥檓 looking forward to how this project would continue to develop from here on out,鈥� she said.