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The Clean Oceans through Clean Communities (CLOCC) programme brought the participants in Tabanan, Bali on site visits to learn about waste management. This is part of CLOCC’s efforts to build capacity and facilitate the creation of a sustainable waste management plan for the Regency.
The site visits were attended by 44 of the CLOCC participants in Tabanan, all waste management stakeholders. There were 12 representatives of Departments, eight representatives from the District, 10 from the village level, and five from organisations.
Socializing good sorting habits in Gianyar
On the first day of the field trip the group visited TPS3R Pejeng Village in Gianyar Regency, to learn about their approach to improving waste management. Participants were welcomed by I Wayan Sukarsa (Head of Pejeng Village) and Ni Ketut Sri Umayanthi (Manager of TPS3R Pejeng Village) to see the equipment and waste management facilities, and learn about its operations.
Waste sorting: Participants saw the inorganic waste sorting process carried out by TPS3R workers in Pejeng Village. TP3R Pejeng Village has 5 sorters who are all women and 3 transporters.
Ni Ketut Sri Umayanti, usually called Mrs. Jro Sri, shared her experience with pioneering waste management in Pejeng Village. Her approach involves recruiting women from the village to educate and socialize waste management in the households. Scheduled waste collection was also implemented, and the households received assistance from the recruited women.
An interesting element of TPS3R Pejeng Village’s approach is that they do not apply sanctions to residents that fail to sort their waste. Instead they visit households and listen to their challenges with sorting waste. This has proven to be effective, and many of the households that failed to sort their waste began sorting their waste after visits.
According to Mrs. Jo Sri, the most important aspect of this is the communication skills of those recruited to socialize waste sorting. This is far more important than technical skills. Experience has shown that the residents in general will support the efforts of the village governments. But this must be communicated in a good way and repeatedly in order to build good sorting habits in households.
Eco Bali: Participants see the process of selecting and packaging organic waste at Eco Bali
Next the group visited the TOSS Center in Dawan District, Klungkung Regency. They were received by the Head of the Land and Environment Service (DLHP) of Klungkung Regency I Ketut Suadnyana and several of his staff. He explained about the Klungkung district’s waste management programs and policies. The participants were shown their educational center and the waste processing facilities, and their method of sorting and composting organic waste. Inorganic waste is sorted and sold.
On the second day the participants went to Eco Bali Recycling. I Ketut Mertaadi, Director of Eco Bali, talked about the company’s history and operations. They collect inorganic waste, and provide their customers with containers for scheduled sorting and transport. Eco Bali collaborates with recycling companies to distribute waste that has been collected from communities.
High volumes of waste at the landfill
Afterwards the group went to Mandung TPA in Kerambitan Tabanan District. At the Mandung TPA, which is managed by the Tabanan DLH, the participants witnessed how the waste enters and is unloaded at the TPA. Participants saw firsthand the queues of trucks from several villages that sent their waste directly to the TPA.
At the TPA, the presentation session was delivered by the Tabanan DLH including the Head of Service, Head of Waste Management, and Head of UPTD TPA Mandung. They spoke about the challenges facing the landfill. This includes the high volume of incoming mixed waste, heavy equipment in bad condition, and the lack of budget for TPA operations. Fires have occurred, and landslides are a threat. The purpose of the visit to the landfill was to understand the challenges of waste management in Tabanan, and see the potential for improvements.
The site visits ended with a reflection session. Ni Wayan Suitri, representative of the Tabanan Village and Community Empowerment Service, said that he would focus on socializing and encouraging the village government to allocate a budget for waste management at the village level. In addition, he also conveyed the need for collaboration from various parties, including the government, the private sector, and the village community to jointly address the waste problem in Tabanan.
A follow-up plan for the CLOCC program was also presented. The next steps are training the participants on waste data collection, and conducting a comprehensive baseline study to explore how much waste is generated in Tabanan, and how different fractions are managed in June.
We’re looking forward to continuing the journey with the CLOCC participants towards a sustainable waste management system in Tabanan.
Written by Agus Sumberdana