One, one, I sort the trash
Two, two, I make compost
Three, three we recycle
One, two, three, our environment is clean

Jakarta. The above lyrics are from the song heard coming from Neighborhood Unit Head Asep Hidayat’s house in Jembatan Besi Subdistrict, North Jakarta. That morning, Asep’s house was the venue for community-based trash cadre training by ESP Jakarta, a workshop involving eight participants from the eight neighborhood units in Community Unit 04 that took place on February 20 – 21, 2008.

This cadre training aims to motivate the local communities to manage the garbage in their immediate environments. “I am really enjoying taking part in this kind of training. Besides learning how to make compost in the Takakura basket, I am also learning all kinds of things about organic and inorganic waste,” said Nining Junaedah, one of the participants.

On the first day of the training, the participants were informed about community-based garbage management planning, ways to recycle non-organic waste and how to make compost. On the second day, the participants learned how to utilize the new module sheets the for community-based waste management which had been formulated by ESP.

According to the official website for the Jakarta Sanitation Department, Jakarta residents produce at least 6,000 tons of trash, of which 65% is organic and 35% is non-organic. Empowering communities through household-scale garbage management is perceived as one of the best solutions for overcoming the problem of waste management in Jakarta.

Sari Tobing, ESP Jakarta