ULM Launches Student Waste Sorting Activists Programme

Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM), South Kalimantan, has launched the Mahasiswa Penggerak Pemilah Sampah programme to support the national Indonesia Aman, Sehat, Bersih, dan Indah (ASRI) movement. “We have directly conveyed this programme to Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, and he greatly appreciated it,” said ULM Rector Prof Ahmad Alim Bachri in Banjarmasin on Friday. He explained that the programme involves at least 100 students from each faculty. Each student is required to sort organic waste (food scraps), inorganic waste (plastic, paper, metal), and residue/hazardous waste (B3). The sorted waste is then processed into compost or raw materials for recycling. Prof Alim stated that this concrete step supports national priority programmes in the environmental sector, particularly waste management through a campus-based research and innovation approach. He affirmed the university’s readiness to support central government policies. ULM has also produced various research outputs ready for implementation, including innovations in processing waste into valuable products such as ecowood bricks. “We have received guidance from the minister, and this action must be continuously strengthened to produce concrete solutions for waste handling that directly impact society,” added Prof Alim.