Departing from that condition, awareness on good waste management starting from household waste is required. When managed properly, waste can bring economic value.

This waste management effort is currently conducted by Ir. Akhmad Zainal Abidin, M.Sc., Ph.D., as the Head of Polymer and Membrane Technology Laboratory (LPTM) of ITB through his Manajemen Sampah Zero (Masaro) or Zero Waste Management. Masaro is a waste management and processing concept that offers a solution in tackling waste problem in Indonesia.

This lecturer at Chemical Engineering Product Design and Development Research Group of Faculty of Industrial Technology said that the working principle of Masaro is waste sorting at the source, waste processing near the source, and involvement of community, government, and industry.

In order to invite community in sorting the waste at the source, the government should educate its community on this matter and provide facility to process waste that contain hazardous materials. Industry then take part by recycling and recovering. The next step is applying environment-friendly technology, and the last thing is the management for sustainability.

“This concept has proven to not only tackle waste problem but also give additional income for people involved,” Zainal said.

Before the initiation of Masaro, LPTM of ITB did a research in 2009 on processing plastic waste into fuel through pyrolysis process. Pyrolysis is a decomposition process of organic compound contained in plastic through catalytic heating process without the involvement of oxygen.

*Liquid fertilizer and fuel by LPTM ITB

The research is a success and has proven to produce high octane fuels. “There are three research focuses conducted by LPTM, such as turning waste into asphalt strengthener (plastipal), turning waste into fuel, and turning Styrofoam waste into sulfur cleaning agent for Pertamina’s diesel.

Masaro’s Industry Scheme

Masaro’s industrial scheme begins with sorting out the waste into several categories. The first category is decaying waste. This type of waste is chopped and processed to create liquid organic fertilizer, liquid organic fodder concentrate, and planting media within polybag.

*Design of Waste Processing Unit

The second is plastic film waste. This waste is first shredded before processed using particular device to generate fuel and asphalt strengthener. The third is recyclable waste (plastic packaging, solids, metals and glasses). This type of waste is sorted and then pressed to make raw materials for creative industry and recycling industry.

The last is burnable waste. This type of waste is sorted into non-hazardous and hazardous wastes. Non-hazardous waste is processed into fuel and its ash becomes planting media. This energy processing is profitable for Masaro’s fuel production unit. The hazardous waste can be incinerated in special incinerator (which is usually conducted by local government).

The most important thing about Masaro is its ability to process all kind of waste and turn it into beneficial and profitable products, such as turning plastic packaging waste into kerosene substitute and asphalt strengthener, and turning 1 kg of decaying waste into 10 L of liquid fertilizer/organic fodder that community can apply on 1 Ha field. “through this scheme, the waste is definitely zero,” he said.

Zainal said that Masaro has been implemented in Indramayu, Cilegon, and Cirebon. It receives positive response, making collaboration with government and industry. “This concept can be implemented and run smoothly,” he said. Masaro help government to cut off waste management budget, and even generate economic value from the waste.

*Zainal showing the result of the liquid fertilizer to the coffee plant. The leaves and seeds are thicker

Masaro’s liquid fertilizer is applicable for agriculture and plantation. For example, when applied to paddy, the harvest yields more and better, weeds grow less, pests are reduced greatly, land is more fertile, and maintenance cost is cheaper by 2/3.

It also increases fruits in numbers and size. Vegetables grows bigger, pests-resistant, and do not wither when harvested.

Masaro could eliminate the need of landfills, reduce state and regional budget, and improve the welfare of community especially in agriculture and animal farm.