An unsightly horror: cows grazing trash in a dumpsite. Photo by Nadya Pryana / Kopernik
Untreated waste is taking up hectares and hectares of land which is in limited supply on this small island. Photo by Nadya Pryana / Kopernik
Imagine how hard it must be to scavenge trash for money; essentially trying to make a living from selling something that others deem has no value. Photo by Nadya Pryana / Kopernik
Arriving at Kopernik just in time for office barbeque, Kopernik analyst Nadya and two UCLA visiting students were reminded of an unsightly horror earlier that day. They saw a cow grazing-- which would have been a perfectly fine and even tranquil sight in Bali, except the cow was grazing plastic. In a dumpsite. Aren’t you glad we have an all-vegetarian buffet today?
Many places in the world have waste problem, but Bali’s case is especially terrifying. With over 4 million permanent residents and over 3 million visitors each year, this little island generates about 20,000 cubic meters of waste each day (Jakarta Post 2012). Moreover, 75 percent of this amount is not properly collected and ends up in illegal dumpsites. Some of them flow into the ocean. If these numbers do not mean much, it is because we do not see the mountains of waste anywhere near the types of places we associate with Bali: white-sand beaches, lush paddy fields, yoga retreats… but they do exist, and the waste crisis is reaching a tipping point. Untreated waste is taking up hectares and hectares of land which is in limited supply on this small island.
MANY NONPROFITS IN BALI HAVE MADE MAJOR STRIDES IN RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND RECYCLING WASTE. KOPERNIK WANTS TO ADDRESS THE DEEP-ROOTED ISSUES THAT ARE PREVENTING A SCALABLE SOLUTION. SINCE WE ARE ALL ABOUT IDENTIFYING AND BUILDING SUSTAINABLE AND PROFITABLE SOLUTIONS AROUND TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, WE THINK, HOW CAN WE USE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN BALI MORE EFFICIENT?
In Bali and most of Indonesia, waste collection service is jointly yet haphazardly provided by the government, private businesses, and private citizens. not just a governmental service but also a business run by many parties. Bali has about 5,000 waste scavengers (locally known as “pemulung”), and waste collector businesses that collect and upcycle household waste. Even with all these actors, the existing waste collection is far from sufficient; it covers only central areas and cannot reach into all the nooks and crannies of Bali.
The fact that a big portion of waste management is done by those in the informal sector presents a challenge. It means there are no clearly defined routes for recurrent waste pickups; no clear distinction between the waste treatment of hotels, industries, medical facilities, and households; no monitoring for waste collectors; and no transparency overall: where does our waste end up?
(here?) - image_02
Also, can you imagine how hard it must be to scavenge trash for money; essentially trying to make a living from selling something that others deem has no value? As the price of waste sinks, so does the scavengers’ income. Much of the waste ends up in illegal dumpsites because absolutely no one wants them (except for the cows...). Whoever invented the idiom “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” clearly had never been to an illegal Bali dumpsite; where trash is, well, trash.
IT TAKES A GREAT TEAMWORK FROM KOPERNIK, BALI RECYCLING, AND UCLA ANDERSON APPLIED MANAGEMENT RESEARCH (AMR) PROGRAM TO FIND A WAY TO TURN TRASH INTO TREASURE. THIS IS NOT ALCHEMY -- THIS IS BITS: BALI INTEGRATED TRASH SOLUTION.
BITS aims to enable waste collectors and scavengers to collect more waste, and to sell it more reliably - by introducing two technologies. First, we are designing a trailer scavengers can use to collect more trash more efficiently from the unreached corners of Bali. Second, we are promoting, in partnership with Bali Recycling, a mobile application which will enable users to select the type of waste they want to sell, get information on pricing, and arrange for pickup (doesn’t this convenience sound familiar these days?).
The combination of the trailer and app introduces supply and demand into the waste collection system and lowers costs for scavengers. Also, all of us avid app users could soon participate in waste management without glancing away from our phones which, for some people, is a game-changer.
Stay tuned to see how the BITS initiative unfolds!
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BITS is one of Kopernik’s internally-driven Last Mile Consulting initiatives, working closely with Bali Recycling, whose founder Olivier Pouillon has almost 20 years of experience in building grassroots waste solutions. Assisted by their expertise and wide network, we conduct interviews with waste management actors and stakeholders to better understand the waste collection value chain and bottlenecks.
Last Mile Consulting provides professional advisory services to corporations, aid agencies and foundations, specialising in the testing and distribution of life-improving products. Our experienced team co-creates innovative, socially responsible ways to reach base of the pyramid markets in the last mile. The revenue earned from Last Mile Consulting funds Kopernik’s work connecting simple technology with last mile communities to reduce poverty.
