Jakarta. According to the Jakarta Sanitation Department’s latest figures, the capital produces 6,700 tons of trash per day, which means that two days’ worth of waste would be enough for residents to build a structure the size of Borobudur temple.
Approximately 2,000 tons of this garbage ends up in the Ciliwung River, which leads to flooding and disease. Even so, people continue to throw their rubbish into the river as they consider waste sorting as troublesome. Jakartans also overuse plastic and disposable materials.
If we only composted our food scraps, we could reduce waste by 20 percent to 30 percent. Imagine how much waste we could reduce if we truly applied the 3Rs — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — into daily life.
From this problem of waste in Jakarta, a moral movement was born: Clean Up Jakarta Day. The event is devoted to cleaning up the city and to create awareness about the pressing problem of waste and waste management, bringing together communities and volunteers through the Indonesian tradition of gotong royong (cooperation).
The annual Clean Up Jakarta Day started in 2013, with last year’s turnout at over 5,000 volunteers. By involving the community in a clean-up, we can spread the message that it is everyone’s job to keep this city clean; the task is not just the responsibility of street sweepers, pemulung (scavengers) and trash collectors.
What makes this event different to others of its kind is that volunteers are asked to separate recyclable from non-recyclable waste as they clean, discovering that roughly 30 percent of waste found on the streets are able to be salvaged. You will find out that Jakarta has many unique, weird and surprising kinds of waste by participating in this event.
This year, the recyclable waste will be handed over to Jakarta’s waste banks, which will be creating treasure from trash.
Clean Up Jakarta Day aims to attract as many communities, businesses, schools and individuals to join this movement, united in one voice. On Oct. 18, an anticipated 20,000 volunteers will be cleaning up at around 50 locations across Jakarta.
Volunteers can register via the website www.cleanupjakartaday.org to join either an existing open site or by nominating to clean up a new location. If you are a business looking to create a fun and worthwhile outing or team bonding experience for your employees, you may consider nominating a Business Clean-Up Site.
Most people consider living green to be hard work, without realizing that small acts can also affect our environment. Through Twitter, Clean Up Jakarta Day also educates netizens by sending green tweets every Friday night. The tweets give various simple tips, like how to stay green during the annual mudik (Idul Fitri homecomein), ways to save energy and carrying out the 3Rs with our family.
Netizens can also participate by mentioning @CleanupJKTday and tweeting photos of their eco-friendly activities that relate to waste reduction. Clean Up Jakarta Day will retweet these picture and prove to the community that Jakartans still care about the environment.
Clean Up Jakarta Day 2015 is also challenging residents to clean up their city through a social-environmental innovation search by helping Kitabisa.com and Indonesia Expat magazine search for breakthrough ideas to reduce waste in Jakarta. The initiative can take the form of a movement, project or even a small business. This challenge encourages Jakartans to push aside their complaints and take the initiative towards a cleaner and greener city.
The winning projects will receive media exposure and be showcased at Clean Up Jakarta Day’s post event. You can show the world that you can make a difference in Jakarta; that you can be an agent of change.
What makes this challenge unique is that you can leverage your crowdfunding campaign with KitaBisa.com! Through crowdfunding, you can bring more people to collaborate and contribute to your initiative. Clean Up Jakarta Day believe that the sustainability of a project depends on the contribution of citizens. By reaching more people, the project will expand its impact.
Lisa Be from Long Beach, California, for example, converted thousands of bottle caps to make a creative and colorful wall on the sidewalk. In Indonesia, meanwhile, Rahyang Nusantara created the Diet Kantong Plastik campaign in Bandung.
With a small step, we can inspire people to make a big impact. For instance, how can you inspire people to transform waste items into every-day tools or a work of art? What can you do to raise awareness about composting?
If you or someone you know has been working to reduce waste in Jakarta and is inspiring change, contact us via bit.ly/CUJDchallenge by filling in the necessary form and submitting a photo documentation of your project before Aug. 14.
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