President asks BRIN to help resolve waste issues at village level

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Arif Satria said President Prabowo Subianto had asked the agency to work with universities to address waste management at household and village level.

Speaking at a press conference at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, Arif said Prabowo was paying special attention to resolving Indonesia’s waste problem as soon as possible, describing it as an issue found in many developing countries.

“BRIN has now been asked to collaborate with the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology to empower universities to work in villages and help address waste problems using technology developed by BRIN and several universities,” Arif said.

He explained that BRIN has waste-processing technologies for use at household, village, sub-district and city levels.

BRIN is not responsible for mass production, but develops prototypes intended for use by the public.

The initiative is also intended to support the Indonesia Safe, Healthy, Clean and Beautiful (ASRI) Movement launched by President Prabowo.

“We want to ensure that the prototypes we develop are beneficial and can be used by the public, so that the President’s ASRI Movement can be implemented properly and in line with expectations,” Arif said.

President Prabowo launched the ASRI Movement to create a greener Indonesia, with trees and clean surroundings, across all regions.

One of its priorities is to manage waste from source to disposal. This will also involve converting waste into energy and implementing the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle.