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. (003)