Waste Management presented by Piet van Zyl

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Wasted 25 September 2017
When it comes to waste, the general a2tude is very much “Can’t someone else just
do it?” We have been condi>oned throughout our lives that trash is dirty and should
not be handled. In the poorer regions of the world, the trash handlers are in a lot of
cases the “forgoCen” people, the lowest casts, the poorest uneducated people.
But the interes>ng thing is that we are the people
genera>ng the trash, not someone else and unless we start
caring about our own waste, this is not going to change. The
waste problems we are experiencing like plas>c on the
beaches and in the streams and along the roads sides, is first
and foremost personal, it is MY issue. I am the cause of the problem.
Now you may immediately say that it is not true. Hang on, let me explain. The
problem is not actually waste but pollu>on. Pollu>on is nothing else but waste
without any use and humans create an awful lot of waste pollu>on.
In nature there is no waste pollu>on. The waste of of one organism
or process becomes the energy, food or shelter for the next.
Nature works in a circular economy. Take trees for example, they
are using CO2 from the atmosphere and the waste product of
every breathing being and harves>ng the carbon to build the tree
and in return the waste product is O2 which we need to breath.
The problem is we are cu2ng down the trees at an alarming rate
and then we take the fossil fuels that nature stored away and burn
it causing more CO2 and therefore nature cannot keep up with our
waste. But lets look at waste that we see around us, the plas>cs,
rubbish dumps, inorganic material that we see all around us.
As stated earlier, we have been condi>oned to just get rid of waste.
We just want it to go away. And then we feel so good if we put it in
the “trash can”. Surely that is enough? Someone will pick it up and
surely they are responsible enough not to dump it illegally? And we
provide trash cans for the local popula>on so they can put it in the
bin and we teach them that once it is in the bin it
is OK. Really? In Bali, the waste collectors are
basically a transport service and they will dump it
wherever is the closest place where someone else had
previously dumped trash. The nit shows up next to the
roads and in the streams. To be fair, the system does
not support the collectors, legal dumps are far away
and the traffic heavy.

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The story of the 4 people Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody sums the situa>on up very well. In
then background you will see the Denpasar TPA or trash dump. The highest point around the area and you
cannot miss it, just follow the smell. And by the way, the small is methane that is a 20 >mes more potent
green house gas than CO2.
I hope that at this stage you are asking yourself “What
can I do? I cannot do anything about everyone else’s
rubbish!” Theodore Roosevelt said it beCer than I can.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you
can and it will be enough.”
The starfish remind me of the story of a liCle girl
walking on a beach where hundreds of starfish washed
out and she was throwing some back into the waves. A
man came by and told her that it makes no difference,
she may as well give up. She replied, “It makes a
difference to this one!”
So where do we start, there are so much waste around and so many types. We are part of a throw away
society. There are single serving por>on control condiments, straws, single use plas>c bags, organic waste,
electronic waste, hazardous waste like cigaret buCs and baby diapers, packaging and more.
There was waste to be handled, and
Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that
because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it,
but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody
when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

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The first step is to become aware of the waste you are crea>ng and then to reduce, reuse and recycle - in
that order. REDUCE - this means say no to plas>c bags and straws and single serving condiments, buy in bulk
in paper bags, etc. But you have to first be aware of what you are was>ng. Next will be to REUSE those
items that you cannot reduce, especially plas>c bags and containers. Only then RECYCLE.
So lets look at plas>cs as that is the one item that is very visible in waste pollu>on and when it breaks down
into smaller pieces it becomes invisible and gets consumed by the animals and fishes and stored in their
systems and then we eat this animals of fish. Full circle.
The recycling of plas>cs have been made easier by the recycling symbols that should be printed or stamped
on the plas>cs. They are numbered from 1 to 7. These are not the only recycling numbers though but for
our purposes we will s>ck to these. The codes are normally stamped at the boComs of the container. If you
want to know more go to:
Plas%c #1 PET Polyethylene terephthalate.
The easiest one is the plas>c water boCles. Also food
containers and other boCles.
PET is a valuable resource and will fetch good money
especially if it is clean and dry. It will help if you can take the
label and cap off and then flaCen it for storage un>l you
have enough volume for a waste collector to pick up.
Recyclable in Indonesia
Plas%c #2 HDPE High
Density polyethylene
Plas>c boCles, plas>c bags, trash cans, oil cans.
The same applies here, clean dry products are worth more and it will also
not s>nk so you can store it longer
The boCle caps on PET boCles are normally also #2
Recyclable in Indonesia
Plas%c #3 PVC Polyvinyl Chloride
This is most probably the most widely used plas>c. We find it in bags, plumbing
pipes, rain coats, toys, boCles for chemicals, flooring. The problem with PVC is that
known carcinogens outgases from PVC. Please read up more about it.
PVC is also recyclable in Indonesia. But keep in mind that there are no recycle
facili>es in Bali, all the plas>cs are transported to Surabaya adding to the traffic and
the traffic pollu>on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_codes

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Plas%c #4 LDPE Low density Polyethylene
Plas>c bags, milk boCles, buckets, plas>c tubes, bread
wrappers. Some of then plas>c boCle labels
Recyclable in Indonesia
Plas%c #5 PP Polypropylene
Some beverage cups, food containers, yogurt containers but also car bumpers,
car interior trim, industrial fibers.
Recyclable in Indonesia.
Plas%c #6 PS Polystyrene
Also know as Styrofoam. Toys, flower potsCD covers, coolers,
plas>c cutlery, take away containers, bean bags.
This is a very tough plas>c to recycle and nit processed widely in
Indonesia. The Styrofoam packing material is also very light and
breaks up and blows away easily. Styrofoam however makes a very
good insula>on. But beCer to avoid ge2ng this as a waste product.
Plas%c # 7 Everything else
This includes polycarbonate, nylon (polyamide), acrylic plas>cs and any products
that has plas>cs laminated into the container. The Gallon boCles for drinking
water falls under this category.
This a a generic category and is not recyclable as it can also be a mixture of
different plas>cs.
Another point to keep in mind is that when we say plas>cs are recyclable it is
actually down-cycled. Meaning PET is not recycled to make water boCles again
but other products of lesser value.

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Laminated Packaging
We have men>oned laminated packaging and here are 2 of the widely used ones, Chip packets and Tetra
Packs
As you can see from the images, the wrappings are mul> layered and
very hard to delaminate. Chip packets are not recyclable and will
break down slowly. BeCer to avoid it
Tetra Pack however are recycled in
Indonesia. As previously noted, the value goes up if
it is clean. Wash out the mild and juice containers
and remove the plas>c caps and flaCen them.
Eco Bali is the agent for recycling the tetra packs. If
you
have enough stocked up call them and find out
where
they can pick it up.
Organic Waste. This makes up the majority of waste in the rubbish dumps and it also contaminates the
plas>c waste. The biggest contribu>on you can make towards reducing the waste is to not mix organics with
any other waste. Use it in your gardens, make compost. If you have smaller vegetable peel amounts, put it
in a blender and mix it in with the garden waste in a heap and put a cardboard cover over it. Turn it very 4
days and in no >me you will have compost.
Paper and cardboard also falls under the label of organics. Cardboard has a commercial value and will be
easy to recycle. Take the tape and labels off and flaCen it for storage. Store brown cardboard separate from
color printed cardboard. Wri>ng paper can be shredded and mixed in with your garden waste to become
compost. Or put it in your new garden beds, water it well, cover with cardboard and wet the card board and
then put a thick layer of leaves and garden waste on top of it and it will also turn into soil.
Metals - all metals are recyclable but especially aluminium cans. Keep it clean and dry and store it un>l you
have enough to give to a waste collector.
Hazardous waste
This is waste that poses a health hazard to us. It also contaminates the rest of the waste to such an extent
that it renders it absolutely useless.
CigareOe buOs - highly toxic and should be handled as toxic
waste in separate containers. There is no recycling value in
this and it should be incinerated
Baby diapers - Diapers are
mul> layered products and
when soiled not recyclable
in Indonesia. This should
also ideally be incinerated
but at this stage there is no
facility to do this.
Mosquito coils are the other item that contaminates waste and makes it
a worthless material. Keep in the same container as cigareCe buCs.

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This is an interes>ng ques>on when it comes to
waste pollu>on. The answer is NO. Les bad is just
less bad and cannot be good. It may be beCer but not good.
When it comes to waste, it is our personal responsibility to firstly know what waste we are producing and
then to ensure that it does not go to a landfill. This is not easy in Bali as there are limited op>ons. The take
away from this is to do the separa>ons and sor>ng at home into the various categories, keep it clean and
store it un>l you have enough to give to a waste collector.
For more informa>on about waste collectors in your area please contact Olivier Pouillon of Bali Recycle
about his Gringo APP that gives informa>on about waste collectors in the urban areas.
For Tetra Pack recycling contact Paola Cannucciari of Eco Bali
Both are Bookgreener Members and have been in the waste industry in Bali for a long >me.
Recommenda%on:
To make the whole waste issue a team effort for those with businesses, I recommend that you form a Green
Team or Environment Team to handle the research and innova>on and implementa>on in your business and
community. (I call them PIONEER teams)
Please contact me if you need help se2ng this up.
Good luck in achieving the Zero Waste to Landfill goal
And remember it is “Personal”
Piet van Zyl
Is less Bad Good?