'Recycling is good business'

'Recycling is good business'

Think globally, act locally, environmentalists say. The proper
handling of household waste, though often overlooked, could
eventually save natural resources and reduce pollution. In
observance of World Environment Day on June 5, The Jakarta Post
asked residents about public awareness of the need to conserve
natural resources and their thoughts on the importance of
recycling.

Vina Khairunisa, 21, is a student at the University of
Indonesia. She rents a room near her campus in Depok:

I think recycling would help reduce the piles of garbage in
Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia. It would also mean
helping to prevent more pollution.

It is true that many people still do not realize the
importance of recycling and tend to ignore the issue. They assume
that their garbage will be taken by scavengers, so they think
they are helping the scavengers by dumping as much garbage as
they can.

But they should realize that the paper and plastic bags they
use could be recycled into many other materials. Furthermore,
they could also start a business recycling used paper and plastic
bags.

I guess one of the ways to increase people's awareness of
recycling would be to encourage recycling companies or successful
recycling businessman to share their experiences at universities
and schools. They could inspire youngsters to recycle not only
for the benefit of the environment, but also as a business
opportunity.

Cak Narto, 35, works at a bookstore in Depok. He lives with
his family in East Jakarta:

Many people talk about the environment, but they don't do
anything to preserve it.

Lots of people talk about recycling as one way to preserve the
environment because it saves trees from being cut down to produce
new paper and cuts down on the number of plastic bags being
thrown away.

However, recycled materials are usually more expensive than
new materials. For example, recycled paper is more expensive than
new paper, which is mass produced.

For now on, we should focus more on recycling plastic products
because people everywhere use plastic bags and then just throw
them away.

And environmental experts say plastic cannot be broken down
naturally, so it has be recycled manually.

--The Jakarta Post