Waste Sorting At Home: Little Act With Big Impact

Have you started sorting your waste at home?

According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics related to Waste Management shows that 81% of waste in Indonesia is still mixed up.  

A study from the Katadata Insight Center (KIC) also shows that 50.8% of households have not sorted their waste, with 79% of them thinking that waste sorting  is a difficult thing to do.

How Important is Waste-Sorting? 

Most of us may think the responsibility for sorting waste totally belongs to the waste operators. The truth is, our contribution in sorting waste from home is urgently needed. 

Waste sorting is important because it could increase the number of waste recycled later, thus, reducing the number of waste ends up in the landfill and the environment. Mixed waste that ends up in the environment could pose threats to our environment: hazardous substances that can seep into the ground, hazardous gases that are released into the air and could accelerate the ozone layer depletion, and many unwanted negative impacts.

How to Sort Your Waste at Home?

It’s not as complicated as it seems, here’s an explanation of how you can start sorting your trash at home:

1. For a start, you can prepare (at least) two separate containers for each category of Organic and Inorganic waste. The more detailed you categorize your waste, the better. But for a beginner, separating between organic waste and inorganic waste is a good start.
2. Don’t forget to empty, rinse, and dry your inorganic waste before putting it in the waste bin.

The next level:

1. You can process your organic waste into compost. The best tips are to separate your organic waste into brown waste (dry leaves, branches) and green waste (food scraps, fruit peel).
2. Separate your inorganic waste into a more detailed categories:
   1. Paper Waste: HVS Paper, Used Beverage Carton (Food/Beverage Carton), Cardboard, newspaper, magazine
   2. Plastic Waste: PET, HDPE, LDPE, PP, PVC, Styrofoam, and other types of plastic waste
   3. Glass Waste: such as glass shards (please keep it safe for waste operators), glass bottle, mirror
   4. Metal Waste: soft drink can, safety pin, nails
3. B3 Waste (Hazardous and Toxic Waste) is considered as hazardous and toxic waste which due to its characteristics may damage the environment and living things. Used batteries, liquid floor cleaners, electronic waste, pesticides, and hairspray are one of the examples. If you’re living in the Jabodetabek area (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi), you may contact @ewasterj (Instagram) to process your hazardous and toxic waste.
4. To prevent the spreading of unwanted disease, please make a special waste bin for this kind of waste: medical and infectious waste. Disposable medical masks, used syringes, and unused medicines are counted as medical and infectious waste. Spray it with disinfectant and keep in a tight container. Give clear and precise label/warning to inform waste operators.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing, the use of disposable medical masks is increasing. However, it’s important to remember that disposable medical masks have to be disposed of wisely due to its potential to endanger waste operators and scavengers.

The following are several ways to manage disposable medical mask waste: 1). Disinfection of medical masks with alcohol, 2). Fold the mask at least three times, with the part that touches the mouth and nose inside, 3). Cut out the mask to prevent irresponsible use of the waste, 4). Wrap it with paper or tissue, 5) Put the medical mask in a separated and closed container, 6). Label it “Medical Waste”. 

You can take some of the steps above to start normalizing your waste sorting at home. Distribute your sorted inorganic waste with Waste4Change through Personal Waste Management. For you entrepreneurs and business people, you can manage your segregated waste through Responsible Waste Management.

References: 

https://katadata.co.id/timpublikasikatadata/berita/5e9a470c74665/kesadaran-warga-memilah-sampah-masih-rendah
https://zerowaste.id/zero-waste-lifestyle/cara-memilah-sampah-di-rumah/
https://wellcome-home.com/blog/how-to-sort-your-waste/