Today, education about disposing of waste in its proper place is not enough. The volume of waste that is increasing along with the increase in population makes waste must be separated and managed from upstream, namely the community. It is this awareness that drives the women of the PKK group RT 03/ RW 14 Hamlet Karang Templek, Andongsari Village, Kec. Ambulu, Jember Regency, East Java, established the Mawar Putih Waste Bank on March 16, 2021.

Running for almost a year, now, Mawar Putih Garbage Bank, which operates regularly every Saturday, has 80 customers. In addition to accepting garbage deposits, the Mawar Putih Garbage Bank also carries out recording, weighing, sorting, and depositing waste activities. As when we met on Thursday, January 13, 2022, they were weighing and recording the waste deposits of a number of customers.

Siti Aminah, treasurer of the Mawar Putih Waste Bank, said that she and her group were inspired to set up a waste bank after realizing the lack of public awareness in her village to sort and process household waste.

"So far, people have only collected waste with a large value, such as cardboard, but the waste that is produced every day, such as plastic, is instead thrown away or burned," he said.

In fact, it is the household waste that is produced every day that causes problems. Referring to data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), of a total of 41.38 million tons of waste in Indonesia throughout 2021, 45.9 percent of it is household waste. Of the total amount, 26.96 million tons are considered not to be managed properly.

Starting from Family Welfare Empowerment (PKK)

Siti Aminah said that before becoming a waste bank, 'rose white' was the name of the PKK group in her hamlet.

“Then, I met the head of the Ambulu waste bank at an event who told me about his efforts to set up a waste bank. From there, I was moved too," he explained.

"So, instead of PKK just getting together to eat and then going home, we took the initiative to set up a waste bank," he added.

On the other hand, in addition to containing the spirit of protecting the environment, the customer concept offered by the Mawar Putih Waste Bank is a special attraction. Every waste deposited by customers will be converted into savings and can be exchanged for parcels, groceries, or cash. Thus, the stigma of waste as a worthless item is slowly shifting into an alternative income for the community.

"Basically, we can't prevent waste from being produced, but we can change the waste to be more useful and increase the family's economic income," he explained.

He also hopes that more and more people around his environment will be involved in waste sorting and processing activities.

"In the future, we hope that all residents of Andongsari Village are aware that the waste they produce every day is a lot and for that, it must be managed together."

Siti Aminah said that before becoming a waste bank, 'rose white' was the name of the PKK group in her hamlet.

“Then, I met the head of the Ambulu waste bank at an event who told me about his efforts to set up a waste bank. From there, I was moved too," he explained.

"So, instead of PKK just getting together to eat and then going home, we took the initiative to set up a waste bank," he added.

On the other hand, in addition to containing the spirit of protecting the environment, the customer concept offered by the Mawar Putih Waste Bank is a special attraction. Every waste deposited by customers will be converted into savings and can be exchanged for parcels, groceries, or cash. Thus, the stigma of waste as a worthless item is slowly shifting into an alternative income for the community.

"Basically, we can't prevent waste from being produced, but we can change the waste to be more useful and increase the family's economic income," he explained.

He also hopes that more and more people around his environment will be involved in waste sorting and processing activities.

"In the future, we hope that all residents of Andongsari Village are aware that the waste they produce every day is a lot and for that, it must be managed together."

Cooperation

Since mid-2021, the Mawar Putih Waste Bank has collaborated with Imaji Sociopreneur, a community assistance and development institution in the Environmental Imaji Program (I-LINK). Driven by a common vision and spirit, this collaboration aims to involve more people in waste sorting and processing activities.

Rohman Abadi, program director of Imaji Sociopreneur, said that his party is trying to involve the community as active subjects in each mentoring activity. Apart from the Mawar Putih Waste Bank, the Environmental Imaji program also collaborates with the Sumber Rejeki Waste Bank, Barokah Jaya Waste Lab, and the Harapan Baru TPST. There are a total of 23 environmental activists involved in waste sorting and processing activities at Imaji Lingkungan.

"Finally, the subject of the change, yes, the community itself, we are here as a facilitator and assist until we are independent," said the man who has been involved in waste sorting and processing activities since 2019. Furthermore, he also appreciated the initiative of the PKK Dusun Karang Templek group to establish a waste bank. According to her, this can also be a space for women's empowerment in the village.

"What the women of the Mawar Putih Waste Bank did, apart from being oriented towards protecting the environment, also reflected the spirit of empowering women in the village," she said.

In line with Siti Aminah, she also agrees that the process of sorting waste from upstream, namely the community, is the main key in overcoming the waste problem.

"Waste if it's just thrown away, maybe it doesn't have any value, but it will be different if it's been sorted, it can be an alternative income as well as contribute to environmental conservation," he explained.

This collaboration has yielded positive results. Until the end of 2021, Mawar Putih Waste Bank has absorbed and processed 234 kilograms of waste including paper, plastic and iron. (*)