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.