Enviro News Asia, Bekasi — The Environmental Science Program of the Universitas Indonesia conducted a community education and empowerment initiative on urban waste bank management for families in Bojong Menteng, Rawalumbu District, Bekasi City, West Java, on Sunday, 2 October 2025. The program addressed the growing waste challenges in Bekasi, where rapid population growth continues to outpace local waste-handling capacity.
The initiative targeted households because family-level waste sorting plays a critical role in reducing upstream waste volumes. The program aimed to strengthen family participation in waste banks and decrease the amount of economically valuable waste that ends up in disposal sites.
The Department of Environmental Science at the School of Sustainable Development led the program as part of its annual community service activities. The team collaborated with the Alamanda Waste Bank, one of the key waste bank actors in Bekasi City.
Program coordinator Herdis Herdiansyah emphasized that the activity encouraged families to develop creative ways to reuse waste materials while understanding that processed items can gain new value. He noted that the waste bank also records the valuation of recyclable materials collected by each household.
Alamanda Waste Bank Chair Apriliawati supported the collaboration, stating that the program benefits community groups by increasing awareness. She expressed hope that families will consistently sort waste at home and deposit it at nearby waste banks.
RW 02 Chair Dain Santoso welcomed the initiative and thanked the organizers for helping families become more environmentally aware. He said that improved household understanding of waste types can strengthen sustainable waste practices at the community level.
The program underscored that consistent waste sorting and processing at the source can reduce the volume of waste sent to final disposal sites while providing families with additional economic value. It also aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 15 on Life on Land, which supports other goals such as poverty reduction, zero hunger, healthy living, and decent work.
Universitas Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to supporting communities through recurring collaborative programs that build environmentally conscious generations. The School of Sustainable Development funded the implementation of the activity. (*)
