PORTALJABAR, GARUT REGENCY - The Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Garut Regency held an Environmental Health Counseling activity with a focus on Waste Reduction and Management as part of the Clean Thursday Friday program. The event was held at the Jayawaras Village Hall, Garut Regency, Friday (9/8/2024).

This activity is the result of collaboration between the Garut Regency Bappeda, the Garut Regency Health Service, and the Garut Regency Environmental Service.

Head of Bappeda Garut Regency Didit Fajar Putradi explained that this activity is one of the efforts to support the flagship program of Garut Regency, namely Garut Zero Waste, which is carried out through the Clean Thursday and Clean Friday programs.

Each Regional Apparatus (PD) has its own area of responsibility, with the Garut Regency Bappeda being responsible for the area along the Development Road.

The party took the initiative to share several things that can be done by not only cleaning the streets, but also involving the community and other stakeholders in realizing the Garut Zero Waste program.

"The second stage is continued with the third stage where we have started sounding, have started socializing with the community, we really want to realize community independence in managing waste," he said.

He added that this activity started from Jayawaras Sub-district as a pilot project, which would then be expanded to other sub-districts in the Jalan Pembangunan area.

Didit hopes that through this outreach, the community can reduce the amount of waste produced and process waste independently at home, so that no more waste comes out of the household.

"The Clean Thursday and Friday program is not just an activity to clean the streets, but has stages that end with community independence in managing waste, even being able to utilize the utility value of the managed waste," he said.

Head of Garut District Health Office, Dr. Leli Yuliani, welcomed the initiative. She assessed that waste management is closely related to environmental health, especially in preventing the spread of diseases such as Dengue Fever (DBD) which is currently increasing in Garut District.

According to Dr. Leli, one effective way to prevent the spread of dengue mosquitoes is through good waste management, in accordance with the 3M Plus principle: draining, covering, and recycling waste that has the potential to become a breeding ground for mosquito larvae.

He also reminded the public not to rely solely on fogging, as this method only kills adult mosquitoes without preventing the emergence of new larvae.

"So it starts with prevention first, and it must start from the community, community participation like that," he said.

Jayawaras Village Head Yoyo appreciated the Bappeda of Garut Regency for implementing this counseling in his area. He hopes that similar activities can be expanded to other areas, especially in Jayawaras Village, so that the Garut Zero Waste program can be more evenly distributed throughout the region.