PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The Communication and Informatics Service (Diskominfo) of West Java Province is again holding IKP Talks #13 in 2024 with the theme "Our Waste: Creating a Healthy Environment Starting from Sorting Waste".

This event was attended by public relations officers of regional apparatuses in the West Java Provincial Government and city districts, the head and members of the PKK Team, the head and members of the Dharma Wanita Persatuan throughout West Java, the Village Heads and Sub-district Heads throughout Greater Bandung, who are expected to become agents of change in spreading awareness about the importance of waste management and a clean environment, which will have a positive impact on health and comfort of life.

In IKP Talks #13 this time, which was held on Wednesday (9/10/2024), a number of speakers were presented, namely the Acting Head of the West Java Environmental Service Dodit Ardian Pancapana who gave a keynote speech, Lead Business Analyst from Jabar Digital Service (JDS) Rizki Adam Kurniawan, and CEO of Plastavfall Bank Reza Ramadhan Tarik.

Head of West Java Communication and Information Service, Ika Mardiah, said that waste has become one of the biggest environmental problems in the world, including in Indonesia and even West Java.

Based on data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), the total volume of waste in West Java in 2022 was 4.89 million tons, making it the province with the 3rd largest waste generation in Indonesia.

"West Java produces an average of 13.41 thousand tons of waste every day throughout 2022," said Ika.

According to Ika, only a small portion of waste is processed properly. Therefore, real steps are needed from all parties to overcome this problem, starting from sorting, depositing sorted waste to waste banks, and accessing the SampahKita feature.

Ika explained that the West Java Provincial Government has a Waste Bank application feature which aims to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of waste management from upstream (waste source) to downstream (Final Disposal Site), reduce environmental impacts, increase awareness and public participation in waste management.

"The goal is to provide convenience for residents to gain access to information on waste management, increase knowledge and community participation in waste management," explained Ika.

He added that the Waste Bank feature has been embedded in the Sapawarga application, which is the West Java SuperApps, a platform that makes it easy for the public to get information, services and convey aspirations.

"Sapawarga has currently been accessed by 2,914,981 users with a daily active user count of 90,211 (data taken on October 4, 2024) and will continue to grow," he said.

Since its release on September 9, 2024, until October 7, 2024, the Bank Sampah feature has been accessed 9,144 times by 7,505 users.

It is hoped that after the IKP Talks#13 event is completed, it will continue to grow and most importantly bring benefits, especially for West Java residents in terms of waste management.

Ika said, through the Bank Sampah feature, users can find the location and number of waste banks in their vicinity.

"Users can also access complete information about the types and prices of waste that can be exchanged," he said.

Meanwhile, Lead Business Analyst from Jabar Digital Service (JDS) Rizki Adam Kurniawan said that the feature regarding waste processing information had been designed since the beginning of the year.

"For this program, we collaborate with other agencies and the Waste Management Task Force Team both in the province and district cities in Greater Bandung," said Rizki.

According to Rizki, with this feature, people can find out information about the nearest waste bank, prices, and waste collection schedules.

"Of course this makes things easier for the community, and requires networking in the regions," he said.

Shared responsibility

Head of the Public Information and Communication Division (IKP) of the West Java Communication and Information Service, Viky Edya Martina, added that waste management is not only the responsibility of the government or related institutions, but also the obligation of all citizens.

"Waste is a very real problem, if not handled properly it will impact our health, environmental sustainability, and quality of life," said Viky.

“The Waste Bank feature in West Java's pride application, namely Sapawarga, has been present as one of the solutions to help us all with waste management, especially in terms of sorting waste from the source.

"By utilizing technology and citizen involvement, the waste sorting movement can be carried out massively and in an organized manner," said Viky.

Meanwhile, Acting Head of the West Java Environmental Service Dodit Ardian Pancapana explained that each person produces an average of 2.5 liters (l) of waste per day, where people with higher economic capacity (6 l/person/day) produce more waste than people with lower economic capacity (3 l/person/day).

Waste in housing on holidays (3 l/person/day) is also more than on normal days (2.5 l/person/day).

According to Dodit, various waste problems in the Greater Bandung area, among others, are related to behavioral aspects concerning awareness in reducing, sorting and processing waste from its source responsibly.

Then internalization of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) or reducing, reusing, and recycling waste that is less effective and integrated, including regulatory, institutional and budgeting aspects of the 3R principle.

"The ban on organic waste entering the Sarimukti TTPAS (Final Waste Processing and Processing Facility) is also not yet effective, where districts and cities in the Greater Bandung area are still sending organic waste to Sarimukti," he said.

Dodit explained that the West Java Provincial Government has made various efforts to handle the waste problem following the full capacity of the Sarimukti TPPAS in West Bandung Regency.

"There is a joint commitment to integrated waste management in Greater Bandung involving Bandung City, Cimahi City, Bandung Regency, and West Bandung Regency," he said.

In addition, his party is implementing a zero waste scheme for waste processing in the Gedung Sate office area and in OPD offices within the West Java Provincial Government.

"We carry out independent waste management in the Gedung Sate office, starting from the trash bins that are divided into three types of waste to processing organic waste to then be used as fertilizer," concluded Dodit.

Plastavfall Bank CEO Reza Ramadhan Tarik said the same thing. According to him, sorting is needed because the waste in the landfill is not processed properly. There is still a lot of residual waste such as plastic food containers and bottles that go into the landfill.

"Therefore, reduce this waste by bringing our own food or drink containers that can be used for quite a long time," he explained.

"We accept residual waste such as plastic bottles, plastic bags, glass bottles, used cooking oil and even metal materials," he added.