Having garbage problems? Ask cows for help<\/p>\n
Ridlo Aryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
While big cities like Jakarta and Surabaya find it difficult
\nto deal with their garbage, Yogyakarta lets cows solve the
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
The Yogyakarta municipality, in cooperation with Bantul and
\nSleman regencies, has just built a final dumping site (LPA) on a
\n12.5-hectare plot of land in Arjowinangun village in the Piyungan
\ndistrict of Bantul.<\/p>\n
The construction of the site, according to the head of
\nYogyakarta's sanitation services office, Sutejo, was only
\nfinalised in August 2000 to accommodate an increased volume of
\ngarbage. \"The new dumping site in Piyungan is much larger and
\ncan accommodate some 1,500 cubic meters of garbage coming from
\nBantul, Sleman and Yogyakarta,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that Yogyakarta's more than 1.5 million
\nresidents generate some 1,500 cubic meters of garbage per day.
\n\"Of this volume, some 850 cubic meters are managed by the
\nadministration while the rest is managed by community members in
\nlocal dumping sites, including those thrown into nearby rivers,
\nsomething which still has to be brought under control,\" Sutejo
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In the three cities -- Bantul, Sleman and Yogyakarta -- 35
\ngarbage trucks daily carry some 1,500 cubic meters of waste from
\nresidential areas and public facilities like markets and shopping
\nareas. Of this total, 850 cubic meters are from Yogyakarta
\nresidents, 400 cubic meters from Sleman and 250 cubic meters from
\nBantul.<\/p>\n
So, how can this new 12.5-hectare dump site accommodate the
\n1,500 cubic meters of garbage that arrive each day?<\/p>\n
Apart from the usual technique of burning garbage and the
\nrecycling of paper and plastic waste carried out by around 250
\nscavengers, some 350 cows help solve the problem by eating the
\ngarbage.<\/p>\n
\"The price of grass is high and moreover, it's hard to find.
\nThat's why we cowherds in this city choose to take our cows here
\nto survive,\" said Tardi, an Arjowinangun resident who tends to
\nhis five cows every day in the Piyungan dumping site.<\/p>\n
Usually, cowherds have to sell their cows to provide enough
\nmoney to buy grass. For instance, if a cowherd has three cows, he
\nhas to sell one of them to buy grass to feed the remaining two.<\/p>\n
\"The price of a cubic meter of grass now stands at Rp 200,000
\nand three cows will eat it up in a week. If I did that I'd be
\nbroke in no time,\" said Tardi, a father of three.<\/p>\n
The free feed also comes with a change in the cows' behavior.
\nCows are known as herbivores, but for the last two years, cows in
\nthe Piyungan dumping site have turned into omnivores.<\/p>\n
\"Since bringing our cows here, they have been getting fatter
\nsince they eat not only the remains of cabbages or water
\nspinaches but also the remains of goat satays from Samirono (one
\nof the biggest restaurants in Yogyakarta),\" Tardi said.<\/p>\n
According to the dumping site supervisor, Sutjipto, the cows
\nwould only stop eating when they chewed the cud. \"Don't be
\nsurprised if more than half of the garbage dumped into this
\ndumping site can be eaten by the cows from morning until
\nafternoon,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gadjah Mada University's professor of animal husbandry, Zaenal
\nBachrudin, said there were further advantages to the process. He
\nsaid that Rumen bacteria in the cows' excrement could help the
\ngarbage's decomposition into peat, thus supporting the soil's
\nfertility.<\/p>\n
When the garbage had turned into thousands of cubic meters of
\npeat, it might open up business opportunities, he added. \"I think
\nthe Yogyakarta administration should consider adding a business
\nunit to sell garbage from this dumping site without having to
\nbuild a factory to do the same process,\" said the dean of the
\nuniversity's school of animal husbandry.<\/p>\n
If the project were successful, he said, it could become a
\nmodel for other administrations in dealing with their garbage.<\/p>",
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