On 12-14 August 2020, R.O.L.E. Foundation visited Bondalem Village to conduct a short version of ZeroWaste Training as part of the Bondalem Project. Four staff members were trained at Bondalem Village’s Integrated Waste Management Site (Tempat Pengelolaan Sampah Terpadu 3R).

The training

On the first day four modules were explained. Health and Safety, which is education about the importance of safety in the work area. Mixed waste and Food waste are about separating mixed waste on sorting tables into two categories only: organic and non-organic. This was different from their previous way of working, where they were separating the waste into organics, plastic, and residue (to landfill).

On the second day the training was focusing on Types of plastic and Other waste modules. The non-organics that were separated on the first day were divided into four categories of soft plastics: clean and clear plastics (to be sold), colored plastics (to be melted), laminated plastics (to be kept), and non-recyclable that will go to the landfill. The hard plastics were separated into two categories: PET (type 1) and PP (type 5).

On the third day, the focus was on Glass and Sustainability (Circular economy and Climate change) with demonstrations of how to clean the glass bottles in the washing tables, how to operate the glass crusher, and how to store the glass that needs to be sent back to the factory. Also, knowledge was shared about storing glass bottles that need to be crushed, and the crushed glass itself.

The waste stream

A record was kept of the amount of waste. In three days of training we processed a total of 400 kilograms of waste. From this amount, we only sent 27 kilograms or 7% of the total waste to the landfill. Furthermore, we separated 44 kilograms of plastics for recycling/up-cycling or 11% of the total waste.

The biggest amount of waste collected consisted of organics like leaves and grass, about 329 kilograms or 82% of the total waste. This is interesting, because on average around 70% of the waste in Indonesia usually consists of organic material, so this number is still considered high. R.O.L.E. Foundation has suggested to upcycle the organic waste into composting in the near future, which adds up to the up-cycling of plastic and glass.

What’s next?

This short ZeroWaste Training in the Bondalem waste site proves that it is possible to minimize the amount of waste we send to landfills by separating the waste more adequate. We are making plans for another training session, focusing on organic waste. We have also started to redesign the workflow and work station in the Bondalem waste site, so the work can be done more efficiently. Wait for the next update for Bondalem Project!