Innovation at the Frontier

Several years ago in Leuwigajah, Ban-dung, a garbage avalanche struck. The disaster happened in the early morning hours and many people were killed, buried alive in their houses. Indonesia is all too fa­miliar with natural and man-made disasters, but no one would ever have imagined such a thing could happen. The bleak sight and foul smell of the dump had become the daily order of life; nobody ever thought that the gargantuan pile of waste would collapse and kill people. But it did and Bandung, once known as the city of flowers, became known as the city of garbage.

While this is an extreme example, it provides a vivid image of the public health problems we face when the volume of waste we produce outpaces our ability to manage its disposal. The responsibility of a find­ing a new solution lies not just with gov­ernment, but with every member of society. Fortunately, there are solutions, and thanks to business innovation and drive, PT Mittran offers such solutions. PT Mittran is a recycling and waste management firm that turns garbage into revenue. From waste, it uses easily accessible technology to produce commercially viable products such as compost, biomass fuel, and recyclable materials.

PT Mittran specializes in integrated gar­bage handling. They collect household and informal sector rubbish, operate volume re­ducing crushers at temporary garbage col­lection points, recycle industry waste, com­post organic waste, and ultimately handle end-point waste disposal.

Modern garbage processing is aimed at managing city garbage in an environmen­tally friendly way and at the same time ac­celerating other activities such as compost production and the recycling process. In modern processing, also called rapid com­posting, organic materials are degraded using mechanisation and aerobic bacteria. Mechanisation reduces the particle size of organic materials which allows more oxy­gen into the waste to be consumed by bac­teria, accelerating decomposition. Eventu­ally this waste becomes commercially viable fertilizer which can be packaged for sale. And this is just one example of the busi­ness opportunities that waste management affords.

As we all know, garbage is a growth indus­try. There is great potential for development.So far, applications have focused primarily on alternative uses of household garbage, but there is industry potential as well. Bio­mass fuel can be produced from garbage to be used as an alternative energy source. For example, PT Mittran produces and supplys biomass fuel for use in a leading Indonesian cement factory.

Modern, environmentally friendly waste management offers many benefits. It can help society and government address our mounting garbage issues and generate revenue at the same time. The environ­mental and social benefits alone are attrac­tive: Reduce waste, pollution, the eyesore of mounds of trash, and the risk of disease. But there are also business and financial benefits: Jobs, trade, and revenue creation. Plus, financial incentives exist for envi­ronmentally friendly waste management, which the government offers through its environmental preservation programs. So there is a happy ending to this story, we can turn garbage into gold.

Kiagus Muhammad Harry Robby Irawan

Contributor

Competitiveness at the Frontier - SENADA Nov'07