The waste problem in Depok City still cannot be resolved properly. The Cipayung landfill, which has been the main place to dispose of waste, is over capacity. Meanwhile, the Cinambo landfill, which was promised by the West Java Provincial Government to be able to accommodate waste in Depok City and its surroundings, has not been able to operate until now. In Depok alone, its daily waste production reaches more than a thousand tons.  

Deputy Mayor of Depok Imam Budi Hartono during WWF Norway's visit at the Wangi Bumi Nusantara Foundation in Sukmajaya District on Thursday (26/05/2022) said that waste is indeed a big problem that until now has not been resolved properly in his area.  

If you look at the distribution of waste in Depok City, continued Imam, 60 percent of them are organic. The SIsanya is 35 percent inorganic and 5 percent residue. Depok residents, he said, must start to get used to sorting garbage from home. To then distribute it to the waste bank. This is important to do so that the piles of garbage in the Cipayung landfill do not become more mountainous.  

"Waste in Depok is also a problem that causes floods. Because Indonesian people in general are still littering. In a river or lake so that it clogs the drainage. In addition, it also causes dirty, smelly, and causes disease. We can see along the Ciliwung river a lot of garbage is scattered."  

Imam said his party is continuing to work to address the issue. One of the alternatives he encouraged was the establishment of a waste bank in each Rukun Warga (RW). That way he hopes that there will be no more accumulation of waste in the Cipayung landfill.  

"The need for the establishment of a waste bank that can manage waste upstream is very important for us," said Imam. Imam further said that in Depok, around 390 waste banks have been formed. This number is still considered insufficient considering that in the area there are 925 Community Pillars (RW). He targeted that waste banks would be built in each RW. There are still 535 more waste banks.  

"The work in the waste bank community until now has only invited the community to sort organic, inorganic and residual waste. Meanwhile, organic waste is managed by UPS (Waste Management Unit) at the village level to be used as fertilizer and maggot feed," he said. 

 If these waste banks are built in each RW and run well, Imam said, efforts to reduce the pile of plastic waste could be done quickly. But with the current conditions, plastic waste has become less well handled. Because the waste bank that has been formed is still less than the target that should be. 

"The number of waste bank communities needs to be increased again. We hope that all RWs have a waste bank community so that sorting can occur. Can reduce waste. If all Depok residents sort out waste, it will reduce the volume of waste per day. So that later it is hoped that waste will no longer enter the Cipayung landfill," he said.  

To speed up the establishment of waste banks in each RW, the Depok City Government has made instructions to each village head to identify their respective areas. If there is an RW in the village where there is no waste bank, he asked for it to be formed immediately. His party also allocated funds of Rp.50 million per kelurahan to build a waste bank. In addition, he is also formulating derivative rules to accelerate the formation of waste banks.  

"For regulation, we study it first. It can be through Perda or Perwali to be more effective," he said.  

In addition, cooperation with other parties to overcome the waste problem also continues to be carried out. The latest is a collaboration with WWF through the Plastic Smart Cities program declared since last year.  

"WWF will provide substantial funding for the handling of plastic waste. For three years they will provide funding if it can be absorbed around Rp.10 billion. We are certainly very happy that WWF wants to participate in efforts to handle plastic waste in Depok City."  

Depok City Parliament member Muhammad Suparyono said different things. According to him, Depok needs 4,500 units of waste banks. This is because Depok has 2.5 million inhabitants. If one house is filled with five people, then in Depok there are about 500 thousand houses. Meanwhile, the capacity of the waste bank can only serve about 100 houses per unit.  

"If it is for the village area, the waste bank may be suitable. But for residential areas, many waste banks are closed. We know that in those housing estates, the population is still relatively productive at work. So that the waste bank that has been formed has no one to manage," he said. Even so, there is also a waste bank located in the housing complex, but it is still running well. One of them is the Annisa waste bank located in the Pelni housing complex, Sukmajaya District.  

A different thing was done by the Annisa Waste Bank besides collecting waste from residents, he also set up a drop box that stood right next to his office. Taking advantage of the fasum of the housing complex, the elongated garbage box about one meter high is painted in a variety of interesting colors. Blue, orange, red, yellow, pink, and green. The colors of the boxes are deliberately distinguished so that residents can sort the garbage according to the type. Residents can put plastic waste, paper, used drink bottles and so on entered according to the information in the box.  

"Hopefully later this will also be followed by other housing estates so that all housing has a waste bank that is modeled like the Annisa waste bank."  

Ratih, the Administrator of the Annisa Waste Bank, said that the formation of the community began in 2018. Starting from his concern with local residents related to the condition of the Cipayung landfill which has exceeded its capacity. "So we wanted to do something. As a welcome dipper, Mr. RW also supports us to build a Waste Bank in this region. We hope to benefit from this waste management so as to create a clean and healthy environment. In addition, it can also bring economic benefits," he said.  

Furthermore, Ratih said that the operation of the Annisa Waste Bank was supported by 13 women and three men. So far, there are 80 residents who have joined as customers of the Waste Bank. According to him, this figure is still small. However, in the future, it is targeted to serve three thousand customers. As a form of legality, the operation of the Annisa Waste Bank is also based on a decree from the Kelurahan.  

"We continue to socialize to residents so that they want to sort waste from home. If the waste is not processed, it will have a wide impact in the long run. Therefore, it must be changed in order to create new habits. It also has to be consistent."  

Weighing the collected waste is carried out one to two times a week. But before the Covid-19 pandemic, it could be done up to four times a week. In a year, the total waste that can be managed is 4.6 tons. Ratih said, to facilitate services, his party is also actively picking up garbage to each house. This is done so that residents who do not have time to visit the Annisa Waste Bank, can still deposit their waste.  

"We are also working with WWF through the PSC program. It is hoped that in the future the plastic waste that we manage can also have added value. It is not only sold to collectors. We plan to build a recycling facility. So that the collected plastic waste can later be processed into new products," he said.  

PSC Manager Tri Agung said that Indonesia is currently experiencing a waste emergency. This happens because landfills in various cities, including Depok, have experienced overcapacity. So it is necessary to make systematic and integrated efforts to unravel the problem. "We are trying to reduce waste to enter the landfill. The thing that we are concerned about is plastic waste. Because plastic is difficult to get into nature," he said.  

Tri's further PSC program will also support the Depok City Government to increase the capacity of the waste bank. He hopes that the collaboration can go well.  

"The PSC will support the waste bank in Depok city. In addition, we will also collaborate with non-governmental organizations in Depok city who have experience in managing plastic waste. We will also provide training to them."  

In addition to the Annisa Waste Bank, another institution that has also been invited to cooperate in the PSC program is the Bumi Wangi Nusantara Foundation. The institution, which was established on December 11, 2019, oversees around 350 Waste Banks in Depok. He is also active in carrying out various educational activities to the community related to integrated waste management.  

Another thing that will also be done is cooperation with start-ups to also support plastic waste management. He emphasized that the PSC will provide grants for the reduction of plastic waste in the region. "Of course we are not targeting zero plastic waste. But we are targeting 30% of the 2021 plastic waste baseline that we studied yesterday. Hopefully this collaboration goes well," he concluded.***