Care for recycled products, anyone?
Care for recycled products, anyone?
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
When it comes to doing good deeds, especially if they help
the environment, the more the merrier probably holds true.
But for recycling foundation XSProject in South Jakarta, it
was more difficult getting people involved in spreading the word
on reusing nonrecyclable trash than it was in finding fresh ideas
for utilizing plastic waste.
"We need a massive public awareness campaign supported by more
parties to get people more interested in recycled products. So
far we are working almost alone," said Uni, XSProject assistant.
Initiated by artist Ann Wizer, the XSProject Foundation
uses nonrecyclable waste to create new products, in the process
reducing trash and providing jobs for the poor.
Some 20 families in a scavenger settlement in Cirendeu, South
Jakarta, depend on the additional monthly income they get from
supplying the foundation with 200 kilograms of flexible plastic
waste, ranging from detergent packages to toothpaste tubes.
The XSProject Foundation pays Rp 6,000 per kilogram of plastic
waste. The waste is classified as nonrecyclable, which means it
produces carbon monoxide when burned.
Five trained housewives from poor families in the Kampung Kids
Foundation in Kemang, along with four skilled craftsmen who used
to work at garment factories before losing their jobs, clean, cut
and sew the waste into brightly colored bags, purses,
wastebaskets and pencil cases.
The housewives receive a weekly salary of Rp 120,000, while
the skilled sewers are paid monthly. They can produce about 100
items a month, which are sold at prices ranging from Rp 30,000 to
Rp 100,000 at several bookstores in South Jakarta. Part of the
revenue goes to scholarships for poor children in the area.
"The scavengers have no problem supplying us with the waste
since there is an abundant amount of it. But we have problems
marketing the products because not many people are willing to
spend money to buy 'trash,'" Uni said.
Due to limited domestic demand, XSProject is trying to export
its products to the U.S., Canada and Singapore. "We are still
expanding our network there," said Uni.
She said there had been efforts by other non-governmental
organizations to replicate XSProject's program. "In the end they
face the same problem."
Uni said a similar program in the Philippines under the name
Bazura developed very well, growing from a small project into a
large scavenger settlement focusing on the recycling business.
"They have full government support that enables them to mass-
produce the bags and market them at a lower price. Here, we have
to work on our own," she said.
Many offers from business entities have come in to the
foundation, but "we want to maintain this as a social and
environmental movement, not a pure business activity", said Uni.
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