South Papua and WWF discuss converting food waste into renewable energy

The Provincial Government of South Papua, through its Manpower, Transmigration, Energy and Mineral Resources Office, together with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia, has held a workshop discussing the management of food waste for renewable energy. “This activity is an important step in addressing the challenges of organic waste management and Food Loss and Waste (FLW) in this region,” said Agustinus Joko Guritno, Assistant I for Government and People’s Welfare at the South Papua Regional Secretariat, in a press release received in Jayapura on Friday. According to Guritno, the management of organic waste, especially food scraps from households, markets, and tourist areas, as well as organic waste from the agriculture and plantation sectors, is still dominated by conventional methods such as disposal to final processing sites and then simply left. “This practice not only consumes land space but also produces high methane gas emissions, which is one of the main contributors to climate change,” he said. He explained that on the other hand, organic waste actually holds significant renewable energy potential, for example through compost management or the utilisation of biomass waste as an alternative fuel for the community. According to him, through this meeting, all parties can work together, starting from discourse and pilot projects towards integrated management of food waste from upstream to downstream based on data and appropriate technology. Guritno added that his party appreciates WWF Indonesia for providing technical support, facilitation, and capacity building, making this collaboration a good example between the regional government and development partners in promoting the management of food waste and organic waste for renewable energy in South Papua.