MWRP Indonesia: Transforming a Solid Waste Management System with Waste Banks

The Gowa Regency, in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia, is home to 650,000 residents. The Gowa government’s capacity for solid waste management (SWM) is limited and community participation in recycling is low. The insufficient number of functional community-based waste banks (bank sampah), places for communities to collect and sort their waste, makes it difficult for independent waste collectors to source and sell recyclable materials in the local market, resulting in low income generation. In the nearby city of Makassar, the environment office established a city-run Central Waste Recycling Center, which stimulated the creation of bank sampah and resulted in higher community recycling rates. With support from USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program, the Center for Public Policy Transformation (Transformasi) and its local partner NGO Yayasan Peduli Negeri (YPN) are working with Gowa Regency officials to replicate Makassar’s approach and best practices to promote waste separation at source and recycling. This collaboration is playing an important role in reducing the amount of waste going to landfills or ending up in the ocean.

 A Solid Waste Management System Transformed

Transformasi and YPN are adapting Makassar’s pioneering approach to establish the Gowa Central Waste Recycling Center by collaborating with community residents, passing city-wide SWM policies, and supporting waste management governance. Transformasi is helping Gowa Regency to operationalize its decision to establish a city-owned and operated central waste bank. YPN is building the capacity of existing bank sampah and creating new ones. YPN is also educating community residents on waste separation, composting techniques, and the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) approach.

 Scaling Up Efficient SWM And Recycling Actions

Along with establishing a Central Waste Recycling Center, Transformasi and YPN are working with the Regency’s government to determine the funding commitment and resources necessary to operate and maintain a Central Waste Recycling Center. Through the Central Waste Recycling Center, the government will act as a guaranteed buyer for community-collected recycled material at a competitive price to promote the sustainability of bank sampah. Transformasi and YPN are aiding the formation of 40 new bank sampah in Gowa in addition to the 10 existing facilities. By the end of the project, these community-based waste banks will be linked to the newly functioning Central Waste Recycling Center. The number of bank sampah members who are actively collecting and depositing waste is expected to increase, thereby decreasing the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean.