Pekanbaru City Government Launches Waste-to-Cash Exchange Programme
INFO TEMPO – The Pekanbaru City Government is intensifying its city-management programme with a vision to make Pekanbaru a Green City. One area receiving serious attention is waste management, which has long been a challenge across various parts of the city.
In addition to improving waste-collection performance, the Pekanbaru City Government is introducing a new innovation: a facility that allows residents to exchange waste for money. The programme is the idea of Pekanbaru Mayor Agung Nugroho as an effort to reduce waste volumes while raising public awareness of waste management.
The programme operates through a collaboration with Rekosistem, a waste-management and materials-recovery technology company that is rapidly expanding in Indonesia. Through this system, residents can exchange various types of waste that still have economic value to be converted into money.
Pekanbaru Mayor Agung Nugroho explained that the programme represents a concrete step by the city government to tackle the waste issue that has long been a major concern.
“This is one of the Pekanbaru City Government’s efforts to tackle the waste issue. People will not only dispose of waste, but can also derive economic value from it,” he said.
He added that residents who want to use the service must first download the Rekosistem app on their mobile phones. After creating an account, users can immediately exchange waste at the various drop-point locations provided.
The types of waste eligible for exchange are diverse, including plastics and plastic bottles, glass bottles, used cooking oil, paper or cardboard, metal, and even discarded electrical items.
According to Agung, none of the facilities under the programme uses the APBD. All funding is borne by a third party, Rekosistem, and the system runs digitally and is integrated.
“None of these facilities uses the APBD. All funding is borne by Rekosistem, a third party. So the system runs digitally and is integrated,” he explained.
In addition to providing drop-point facilities, Rekosistem will also establish a waste-processing facility so that the entire management process operates on a system and is more integrated.
The programme is described as the first in Sumatra to provide an application-based waste-to-cash exchange facility with a network of drop points across strategic locations in the city.
The following are the 10 drop-point locations for waste exchange in Pekanbaru:
RTH Putri Kaca Mayang
Area near Mayang Nature Tourism
Area near Universitas Riau Panam Campus
TRC Pekanbaru Aman 112
In front of Ramayana STC
Pekanbaru Public Service Mall
Riau Main Stadium
Park near MPP
Panam Morning Market
Simpang 4 Taman Rekreasi Rumbai
With this programme, it is hoped that residents of Pekanbaru will become more active in sorting waste from home. In addition to helping keep the city clean, residents can also gain economic benefits from the waste they collect.