Recycling Waste Management

Each country has their own waste management system, and it is something that I have been paying attention to specifically in my own country Indonesia. As a whole system, based on my understanding, wastes in Indonesia would generally be picked up from households and in the end would reach the last processing site for incineration. If there is a leak in the system, then the wastes would end up in rivers and the ocean.

I am particularly observing the waste management system for recyclable items. In Jakarta, they would often have their own trash bin for recyclables. But as it is often contaminated with other forms of waste, they end up being unrecycled. This means that people who have the intention to recycle by placing recyclables in these bins, end up having their effort go to waste. However, this is not the only way to recycle items in Indonesia. We also have a system where there are communities that specifically collect these recyclable waste. The people are the ones who have to be actively involved in sorting out their trash and to collect them to this place.

I have also seen a big trash bin just made of thick wires to place recyclables PET plastic products in Daugavpils, Latvia. Not only that, there are also places specifically designated for glass bottles. So in my dorm, trashes are not really sorted out. It is the individuals’ responsibility to take out their own waste from the bin in their room to the trash bin outside. That is why I have also been separating my PET plastics previously used for milk, to later be disposed of in this trash bin specifically for recycling PET plastics.

In our waste management, no matter in which country, I believe that each individual plays an important role in making the system work. If there is a good system, but the society does not follow it, then the system itself would have a hard time being sustainable. So even if there may not be a good system for waste management yet in certain countries, if individuals start and build upon a good waste management and ask people to follow along, then surely the system would appear and be in place. If there is no one to create and fix the system, then who will.