PORTALJABAR, BEKASI REGENCY - Bekasi Deputy Regent (Wabup) Asep Surya Atmaja appreciated the implementation of the Waste Bank Festival throughout Cibitung District in commemoration of Earth Day 2025.

This festival is combined with seminars and socialization of waste management to strengthen the role of the community in protecting the environment and encouraging a circular economy based on the utilization of household waste.

A total of six villages and one sub-district participated in the activity held at the Cibitung District Office Yard on (22/4/2025), by displaying crafts made from recycled waste as a form of commitment to a clean and sustainable environment.

This activity was initiated by Cibitung District and the Waste Bank Forum as part of the environmental movement at the sub-district level.

The Deputy Regent directly reviewed the recycling product stands and conveyed plans to expand temporary waste disposal sites to all villages.

"Alhamdulillah I was able to attend the Waste Bank Festival and Waste Socialization. In the future, temporary trash bins will be attempted in every village," he said.

He emphasized the importance of collective awareness in waste management as a shared responsibility of the community.

"Sorting household waste reduces the burden on the Burangkeng Final Disposal Site and empowers the community socially and economically," he explained.

Deputy Chairman of the Bekasi Regency Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD), Budi Muhammad Mustafa, said that the DPRD had completed discussions on the Draft Regional Regulation on Waste Management and was targeting ratification in the near future.

"Every sub-district is required to have a waste bank, including in markets and agencies. We in the DPRD fully support, even encourage the provision of incentives for waste bank activists in each RW," he said.

He revealed that around 30 percent of all waste banks in Bekasi Regency are in Cibitung District, which is worthy of being used as an example of community-based waste management.

Cibitung Sub-district Head, Encun Sunarto, said that currently 123 waste banks have been formed spread across 70 of the 172 RW in Cibitung Sub-district.

The target is one RW one waste bank as an effort to realize community-based waste management.

"This is a big challenge, but all stakeholders and residents support it. We also encourage schools to manage their own waste," he said.

He explained that several RWs have succeeded in producing compost, fertilizer, crafts, soap from used cooking oil, and eco-enzymes, which have economic value while protecting the environment.

The Waste Bank Festival in Cibitung District is a forum for education and appreciation of community-based waste management efforts.

Through the support of DPRD regulations, strengthening the role of waste banks at the RW level, and the involvement of the world of education, Cibitung District is expected to become a model for integrated waste management in the Bekasi Regency Government.

This joint commitment is expected to reduce the burden on landfills, increase environmental awareness, and provide added economic value to the community.
(Bekasi Regency Communications, Information and Sanitation Service/Fau)