Wisnu spearheads waste management

Wisnu spearheads waste management

Singgir Kartana, Contributor, Yogyakarta

One morning in 1990, Wisnu Wardhana, then a tukang sampah -- a
garbage collector -- discovered smoke coming from a pile of
garbage in his neighbor's yard. Curious, he stirred it with a
stick, but was surprised when no flames burst forth. He also did
not detect the familiar odor of garbage, but instead smelled
earth.

"The process is called composting," his neighbor, Suryo, told
him and lent him a book called Tanah dan Pemupukannya (Soil and
its fertilization), which introduced Wisnu to composting.

Thanks to the book and his personal concern in regards waste
management and the local environment, Wisnu was inspired to turn
to composting as a solution.

With his fellow garbage collectors, Banjarmasin-born Wisnu
began producing compost that year at the state-owned 2,600 sq m
Balungan garbage dump in Wedomartani, Ngemplak, Sleman.

The dump was divided into four areas: one for dumping garbage,
one for sorting, one for making compost and the last for Wisnu
and his six friends' living quarters.

Four of his friends were tasked with sorting organic from non-
organic garbage: The organic waste would be processed into
compost while the non-organic would be sold to a broker of
recyclables. The remaining two collectors were tasked with making
the compost, while Wisnu supervised the entire operation.

By 1997, he was employing 37 workers and making about Rp 2
million daily from compost sales at a price of Rp 50,000 per bag.
His customers are mostly farmers, plant sellers and non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) working with farmers.

In addition, he made about Rp 500,000 a week from selling
recyclables, from which he paid the Rp 1.5 million monthly rent
for use of the land.

Later, Wisnu made enough from his business to buy two
secondhand trucks and five garbage carts.

"A worker can earn Rp 325,000 a month from the business," said
Wisnu.

Presently, Wisnu employs only eight workers, as most of his
former workers began their own composting businesses across the
province in 1999, and Wisnu's own business had dropped
significantly.

Wisnu said he was strict in keeping to the correct balance of
garbage and soil in the composting process and, as a result,
although piles and piles of garbage could be seen, no putrid
smell of decomposing garbage polluted the air.

"Too much garbage in a single layer of soil will cause an
imperfect decomposition process that will produce an odor and
cause a host of diseases," he said, adding that the ideal ratio
for composting was three parts soil to one part garbage.

Wisnu's efforts in waste management eventually drew the
attention of others, and two years ago, the government of Sleman
regency honored him with a certificate of merit as an
environmental pioneer. He is also a recipient of the 2000 Silver
Gold Award from a Thai environmental organization, which also
donated US$20,000 toward his composting business.

Wisnu's dump is now a kind of field laboratory where students,
lecturers, environmental activists and government institutions
often come to conduct research.

"He is one-of-a-kind, someone who is wholeheartedly committed
to waste management. He doesn't even need a thermometer to
measure the temperature of the compost-making process. All he
needs to do is to simply rub the surface of the compost pile,"
Genie F. Ferdie, a local waste management activist, commented on
Wisnu's expertise.

It is not surprising, therefore, that several state and
private universities in Yogyakarta invited him as a guest
lecturer in waste management. Wisnu, however, has so far been
unable to fulfill the request, as he said he found it difficult
to present the issues in theory.

"I prefer to share my knowledge through field work rather than
in a classroom. Unfortunately, most students are reluctant to
learn through practice, and prefer to listen to a lecture," he
said.

Wisnu often tours across the country with environmentalist
Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Consortium to share his expertise
and experience in waste management. He is also a member of the
Jala Sampah waste management network, Global Incinerator
Alliance, German-based PUSEA and the founding father of
cooperative Karya Panggayuh Sentosa, which he set up with fellow
garbage collectors and compost-makers.

However, fame comes at a price, and more than once, his name
has been used by unscrupulous individuals to procure funding from
international environmental aid organizations -- or simply to
gain recognition.

"I was once cheated by a well-known local NGO that ordered
bags of compost, but they never paid me for the delivery," Wisnu
said.

Still, Wisnu does not seem to be bothered by the incidents.
What matters to him is that he can make a living and, at the same
time, contribute to his community through waste management toward
a cleaner, healthier environment.