It has been a long time since the Special Region of Yogyakarta has faced the waste management problem. A bulk of the budget has been allocated to carry out waste management in this region, yet implementing well-operated waste management is still a far-finish line to be accomplished. As the existing reality so far, the response towards the waste management problem is based on short-term solutions namely opening and expanding dump fields and prohibiting inorganic waste. Nevertheless, to what extent are those solutions able to endure when the waste relatively increases?
Concerning the existing conditions, waste management in Yogyakarta should be handled through a cross-sector approach. Waste management should involve various stakeholders such as industry sector, community, and government.
Boy Chandra, the initiator of Guwosari Training Center (GSTC), thought that integration in waste management in Yogyakarta should be deepened. Interestingly, increasing waste volume in Yogyakarta is not a ‘problem’, Boy argued. Waste management-based industries are able to maximize their production capacity in the middle of expanding the demand for recycled-originated products. Boy mentioned several ideas regarding the integration and diversification strategy in managing waste.
First, cross-sector cooperation in waste management is imperative to protect the environment and benefit all entities around the waste management ecosystem. It means that the “One Village, One Waste Management System” policy to create end-products is such a significant step in the sub-district. Hence, the village becomes a first-hand entity in controlling waste flow within the local community. That policy can be commenced by raising the local community’s awareness about the importance of waste governance and creating community-powered waste management in the next step to go.
Second, beside the need to deepen multi-sector coordination, community-powered waste management should agree on the use of diversification or specialization strategy, based on types of waste that are cycled by the advanced waste recycling industry. This approach is expected to encourage collaboration between waste recycling industries and avoid unhealthy competition. Furthermore, the diversification approach will easily map the potential outputs of the waste recycling industry in Yogyakarta.
