"Last year, our team was active in learning the theoretical aspect of village development, so this year we decided to put our focus more on the social aspect,” Kevin Rizaldy (Material Engineering, 2020) mentioned. “We want to interact with rural communities to the best of our abilities as part of the ITB MTM Community Social Masterplan program."

The master plan maps the needs and potential of Indragiri Village to pave the way for the next community service. "With the master plan, the team can immediately confirm and create an appropriate program for the people," Rizal continued during the interview on Tuesday (7/3/2023).

The team also pays attention to waste issues that disrupt the daily lives of the residents. The waste processing program planned involves the knowledge learned in class, spanning stages of waste sorting, shredding, melting, and molding.

"Waste sorting is intended to separate the types of plastics that can be shredded well. The classified plastic is then cut to small, uniform sizes through shredding. After that, the waste is melted at high temperatures to change its phase from solid to liquid. Finally, the plastic will be molded according to demands like paving blocks," Rizal disclosed.

Rakan Putra (Material Engineering, 2020) added that this team had conducted initial research about the different types of plastics. so that they can properly sort the plastic waste during implementation. “We also teach the people how to use the injection molding device to process polymers or plastics. With good management, we hope that our endeavors can reduce pollution and facilitate waste management in the village.”

The injection molding machine needs to be preheated to match the melting point of the plastic that will be processed. Next, the shredded plastic is put into the hopper. The melted plastic is then injected and left to cool. After the material hardens, the product can be removed from the mold.

This waste processing procedure was done by 16 members of ITB MTM ITB together with residents of Indragiri Village from December 21, 2022, to January 3, 2023. "We gained a very valuable experience for being directly involved with the community," Dinan Firdaus (Material Engineering, 2020) said.

Furthermore, the team taught children from elementary to high school the importance of waste management. They shared their knowledge through interactive games for easier understanding of the topics taught. "The main goal of this program is to introduce these types of waste early to the children, and we were glad knowing that they were very happy and enthusiastic about it," Rakan explained.

Dinan hoped that the program conducted at Indragiri Village can encourage the people to be more aware of their environmental problems.

Reporter: Maharani Rachmawati Purnomo (Oceanography, 2020)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)