Saturday, February 26, 2022
Jakarta, Suarajatim.com – Garbage is a big problem in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia. In this case, waste management requires the involvement of all parties. Therefore, PT Paiton Energy (Paiton Energy) and PT Paiton Operation & Maintenance Indonesia (POMI) carry out community empowerment through an integrated waste management program to control climate change in the form of reducing carbon emissions through the Climate Village Program (Proklim).
Since 2014, the Company has implemented an integrated waste management program, through waste bank activities. The waste bank is an entry point to change people's habits in managing waste. The company invites the public to be responsible for the remaining consumption and the rest of the production they produce on a daily basis. In addition, starting in 2017, the Company conducted a campaign for making ecobricks in Probolinggo Regency. Ecobrick is a plastic waste solution that has no economic value and is usually disposed of carelessly.
This program is a collaboration with the Department of Environment (DLH) of Probolinggo Regency and DLH of Situbondo Regency, as part of ProKlim. The Company and the government (DLH of Probolinggo and Situbondo Regencies) consistently hold training on the management of plastic waste into ecobricks and technical guidance on waste banks to encourage the formation of waste banks in every village in Probolinggo and Situbondo Regencies.
Currently, there are 15 active waste banks assisted by Paiton Energy and the government in Probolinggo and Situbondo Regencies. With the technical guidance, it is hoped that the waste banks in the two regions will continue to grow, in terms of number, turnover, and the level of waste reduction.
Meanwhile, specifically for the ecobrick campaign, it was carried out through training in making ecobricks to communities, including villages, schools, Islamic boarding schools, and formal and informal groups (PKK social gathering, recitation, etc.) in Probolinggo and Situbondo. In 2019, an environmentally friendly garden building was made in the form of a miniature Jabung temple from ecobrick and clay raw materials, carried out by 33 Global Ecobrick Alliance (GEA) trainers throughout Indonesia, involving 250 volunteers from the general public & students.
Ecobricks are bottles made of plastic filled with plastic waste to the brim and solid. The purpose of making ecobricks is so that plastic does not release CO2 when exposed to the sun, burns, is scattered in rivers and ends up in the sea so that it pollutes the biosphere. Ecobricks can be used as an alternative to building materials such as blocks or bricks. Ecobricks can also be used to make modular furniture that can be assembled and disassembled, such as garden chairs.
Chief Financial Officer of Paiton Energy, Bayu Widyanto said that the waste management program carried out by the Company is a platform to strengthen the position of the waste management sector as a driver to control the impact of climate change at the community level. This reduces carbon emissions from burning trash.
"Activities in the form of ecobricks and waste banks carried out by the communities at the Proklim locations become a real example of implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation, which provide benefits for improving community welfare and reducing climate change disaster risks," said Bayu.
Currently Paiton Energy and DLH Probolinggo Regency have agreed to cooperate in realizing the Recycling Center program which is located in the old market of Paiton, Probolinggo Regency. This is a development of his previous activity, namely an integrated waste management program to overcome the waste problem in Probolinggo Regency. It is hoped that in the future, the Recycling Center program can be used as a pilot project to realize the circular economy concept.
In addition, through the Waste to Energy CSR Project program, Paiton Energy in collaboration with the University of Indonesia (UI) presented a 234 kWh Waste Power Plant (PLTSa) at the Parangtopo Laboratory, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), Depok. This is Paiton Energy's effort in mitigating climate change from the waste sector.
CFS Manager of PT Paiton Energy – POMI Bambang Jiwantoro said that through this ecobrick program, it is hoped that more people will care about waste control and processing programs. The beneficiaries of the program are the wider community. “In principle, the ecobricking is not the only goal, but what is more important is changing people's mindsets in solving plastic problems. Thus, the prevention of environmental damage due to plastic can be done by each individual," said Bambang.
The ecobrick movement that has been carried out so far has provided benefits as evidenced by the stipulation of Paiton Energy as the recipient of the 2020 and 2021 Indonesia Green Award for the category of handling plastic waste. The ecobrick movement brings the community together to clean and green the environment.
Paiton Energy has implemented the CSR program since 2000 which is designed annually and monitored by the Community Development Committee. Programs are categorized into three focuses, namely supporting the sustainability of companies (power plant), socio-economic sustainability, and energy and environmental sustainability.(*)