Hi Everyone!
Indri here from THINK-Research Team. I hope you and your family are healthy and safe. Since the situation is getting worse in Indonesia due to Covid cases.
Today I will write about waste management strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I had an offline meeting with PHKT (Pertamina Hulu Kalimantan Timur) a few days ago and we discussed this topic. I also remember that I planned to write about waste management after giving a presentation in the Tokyo Uni program but I forgot it.
What is Waste Management and Various Methods of Waste Disposal?
Source: Conserve Energy Future
I found this picture and it can summarize waste management strategies. In the waste management cycle, we need to minimize waste production and convert waste into products that can be used for a long time or give co-benefits to the environment. I can explain briefly why these strategies can contribute to the waste management process.
1) Waste removal is important to make sure that people do not dump the waste into open or public spaces.
2) Waste transportation will bring waste into the waste facility and an essential service for housing and settlements.
3) Storage and collection is usually a place for non-organic waste. It is a temporary place for non-organic or plastic waste before they are delivered to waste treatment.
4) Recycling and reuse is a part of the 3R (reduce, recycle, and reuse) or 5R (refuse, reduce, recycle, reuse, and rot) program. After sending the plastic waste to the storage and collection, the recycling and reusing process can be done in the waste facility.
5) Landfill disposal is a place for collecting waste. The waste segregation process is important to be done here.
6) Waste treatment is usually for organic waste. The aerobic or anaerobic digestion process can convert organic waste into organic fertilizer, biogas, or biochar.
When I had a meeting with PHKT, they said they want to have a waste management program as a part of community development or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and connect it to SDGs. So, if we check SDGs, waste management can contribute to many goals.
I made this presentation when I presented about waste management issues. So, it can contribute to the Zero Hunger goal (if we focus on organic or food waste), Good Health and Well-being (clean environment and good health), Sustainable Cities and Communities (sustainable waste management, waste treatment, circular economy), Responsible Consumption and Production (minimize waste production), and Life below water (reduce waste in sea and beach). However, waste management can also contribute to other goals, such as Climate Action (reduce emission and carbon capture), No Poverty (circular economy from waste management), Affordable and clean energy (biogas and plastic waste-to-energy process), Clean water and sanitation (for liquid waste and wastewater treatment), and Life on Land (for organic fertilizer and soil carbon material).
So, we discussed waste management by including biogas and black soldier fly (BSF/maggot) farming for managing organic waste. I drafted this illustration to give you a brief explanation.
So, they are interested to have this integrated waste management and connect the impacts to carbon offset, circular economy, and SDGs. Apart from the pros and cons of BSF, there are potential benefits that can be achieved from this process. I will continue to write about this waste management system in my next blog. So, see you!
Thank you for reading!