Danone-Aqua Teams Up with Gov't for East Java’s Largest Integrated Waste Management Site
Lamongan. Danone-Aqua, Indonesia's largest bottled water company, along with the Lamongan district government, have officially inaugurated East Java's largest integrated waste management site, or TPST.
The TPST — named "Sampahku Tanggung Jawabku" (Samtaku) — has a waste processing capacity of 60 tons a day. It is located in Banjarmendalan village, just right on the north coast of East Java Province. Thanks to its strategic location, the TPST Samtaku can help reduce waste that enters the seas.
According to the National Plastic Action Partnership data released in April, 620,000 tons of plastic waste pollutes rivers, lakes, and seas in Indonesia annually. Inefficient waste management infrastructure becomes one of the causes of alarming water pollution.
In response, Danone-Aqua teams up with the Lamongan district government to work on a waste-processing infrastructure in TPST Samtaku. Danone-Aqua also works with waste management company Reciki Solusi Indonesia for the site's daily operation.
"With such processing capacity, the TPST is a manifestation of Danone-Aqua's #BijakBerplastik ambition, which was first launched to support the Indonesian government to reduce plastic waste from entering the sea by up to 70 percent. This is also an effort to realize the zero-waste-to-landfill program," Danone Indonesia's sustainability director Karyanto Wibowo said in his official statement on Tuesday.
East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak said the province is committed to being sustainably waste-free, although several challenges still need to be addressed.
"Hopefully, TPST Lamongan, as a result of the collaboration of many parties — the government, private and community elements — can carry out the plastic waste management properly," Emil said.
During the operational trial period from March to November 2020, TPST Samtaku Lamongan processed 3,950 tons of waste, 20 percent of which was plastic waste.
The site combines manual and mechanical sorting methods. It uses a special machine that can separate non-biodegradable waste from biodegradable waste by up to 95 percent. It can also reduce the waste entering the landfill by up to 70 percent.
“This reduction is required to realize Lamongan’s ambition to become the first district in Indonesia that closes their landfill from household waste and other types of domestic waste without going through any waste processing," Lamongan regent Fadeli said.
Also, TPST Samtaku Lamongan has educational facilities for people to gain a better knowledge of waste management. The educational facilities also seek to encourage behavior changes among locals and school-children who visit the site.
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