Betterlife – Planet Postives: 21 December 2021 | GARBAGE BANK : RECYCLING WASTE TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT

Friend steemians wherever you are, environmental issues are a topic that is still a concern of the world today because its impact is felt by all countries in the world, where each country has dependence on Neighboring countries that can affect conditions in their country. For example, the case of the forest fires some time ago in Kalimantan which will also be felt by the State of Malaysia where Malaysia also gets the haze from forest fires in Indonesia. Therefore, the responsibility for environmental damage is the burden of all countries and a common consensus.

Last November, a fire broke out east of the Australian state capital Perth that has threatened the homes and lives of residents around Mokine in the Shire of Northam, 71 kilometers east of Perth, where in the summer of 2019 to 2020, Australia experienced an unprecedented season. The high, dry and combustible temperatures of many of the native plants there have contributed to the fires and the fires have burned more than 17 million hectares of forest land or nearly half the size of Germany and claimed the lives of 33 people, including nine. firefighters.

Earlier, in October, there was a forest fire in California, United States, on October 12, 2021, local time which destroyed dozens of houses and forced thousands of residents to be evacuated to the location which is safer. According to the Sacramento Safety Authority, the fire broke out after strong winds caused the fire to spread faster and reach residential areas. The fire also caused damage to two mobile home parks, destroyed several trailers and left 1 person burnt and forced to turn off the power grid to prevent the fire from spreading rapidly.

The examples above are just a few of the many cases that have occurred around the world. There are tens or even hundreds of other cases that may have occurred that escaped media coverage and were only limited to forest fires, but many other environmental damage occurred in various countries which contributed to aggravating and causing global climate damage and anomalies. The indiscriminate exploration of natural resources has contributed to the deteriorating global climate whose effects are not only felt by local countries, but also to other countries in the world.

Even though environmental issues have received international attention, there is still a conspiracy between economic oligarchs and power oligarchs who exploit natural resources for the benefit of themselves and their groups regardless of the effects, in arising. We can see this in the ongoing deforestation and mineral mining which often creates waste and damages the environment.

In my opinion, the role of the Government is not optimal in preventing environmental damage and climate change, which can be seen from the many facts that the budget prepared for this activity is still very small. At the local government level, this can be seen from the fact that the amount of budget for handling waste is still very minimal and usually we will find a lot of garbage collection containers that are placed in one place, not transported for several days with the argument that there is no charge for gasoline for transport rubbish cars. This does not only occur in the early months of each year when the budget has not been reduced, but also occurs in the following months even until the end of the fiscal year. This is proven by the fact that there is still garbage that is not transported by stakeholders, which happens to be located close to my residence which causes a strong stench.

As citizens, we can participate in efforts to protect the environment by doing various positive things, including not littering or other actions.

Yesterday I visited my aunty's house in Seunuddon because she was harvesting milkfish in her pond and as usual when harvesting fish, she always contacted us and we went there to see the harvest fish. Yesterday I went with my wife and daughter around 12 noon and arrived there at 01pm. As is customary, we were served drinks by our Aunty and at that time something caught my attention where we were served drinks and also Aqua which was placed in a container made of used aqua glass which was made in such a way that it became more valuable.

Out of curiosity I asked about the container and apparently it is one of the handicrafts made by my aunty, which is also made by many other residents. Apparently there has been an attempt to process inorganic waste from a member of the community by forming a GARBAGE BANK, and has even established a business with a legal entity, namely CV. PELANGI SHOP ACEH.

This company was founded by a resident named Mustafa Kamal S.Sos who is a resident of Matang Karieng Village, Seunuddon District, North Aceh Regency, who is doing business in processing waste and establishing the Pelangi GARBAGE BANK. In operationally, the company will collect the garbage collected by local residents once a week and will be recorded in a savings book belonging to the residents' GARBAGE BANK which can be cashed out at a time if the balance is large.

The transported waste will be processed by the company and produce products in the form of Pavin Blocks made of plastic, carbolic acid, various handicrafts, dish soap and others.

With this kind of activity, it has actually provided many benefits, where the environment will be protected, especially inorganic waste and can also provide income for residents for their daily needs. Unfortunately, this business was not continued because the current owner of the company has moved to his wife's hometown in Pidie Regency, so the business has stopped operating.

Although the operation of this GARBAGE BANK has stopped, there are still traces of its existence until now, where there are still many residents, including my aunty, who still process this waste into handicrafts, either for personal use or for sale to those who are interested.

Examples of handicrafts produced by my mother include aqua containers, containers for betel nut at weddings, tissue holders, fruit baskets, various flowers and others made from waste plastic materials, especially used aqua glass and other plastic waste.

This small step has actually taken part in protecting our environment, which should be supported by the government in an effort to protect the environment and the dangers of inorganic waste that can damage ecosystems and cause other impacts. We hope that in the future there will be community leaders who carry out similar activities in processing waste so that it becomes more valuable that provides economic benefits and contributes to improving the quality of the environment.

And as usual on my visit to aunty's house this time, we were served quite delicious crab noodles taken from the pond behind her house…Yummy….

That's what I'm sharing today, I hope you like it and thank you for stopping by my post.