Bandung Residents Turn Waste Into Shopping and Healthcare Vouchers

Waste Management Still Faces Challenges

Farhan admitted that waste management in Bandung City still faces a number of challenges, both technical and non-technical. The government is currently continuing to improve waste management and technology.

"After we conducted an evaluation with Bappenas, public works and the Ministry of the Environment, it showed that our ability to carry out good waste transportation management is still far behind. So, we are currently working on improving one of them," he said.

Apart from improving the transportation system, changing community behavior is also an important part of waste management. The habit of sorting waste requires knowledge, education and ongoing assistance.

"Sorting requires knowledge and education. So, we started to enter through education and outreach. One thing we do is use Gaslah. That's the official thing. Community initiatives like Great Bandung force people to know what and how to sort," he explained.

Farhan emphasized that no matter how sophisticated waste processing technology is, it will not provide maximum results if the waste has not been sorted from home.

"Because from the start, the most important thing is that we all realize, no matter how sophisticated the technology is used for waste management, there must be sorting. Period," he stressed.

Through activities such as Bazaar Shopping Using Trash, waste is no longer only seen as an environmental problem. If sorted and managed from the source, waste can provide economic benefits while strengthening citizen involvement in protecting the environment.