Turning Waste into Money at GoBan Waste Bank, Banjarsuri Village, Lampung

On that Sunday morning, the atmosphere of Banjarsuri Village was lively with the chatter of children accompanied by the voices of their mothers who were chatting while waiting for the officers carrying out the Mobile Trash Bank Operation. Each house that had sorted their garbage was visited by the officers, who seemed very familiar with the homeowners. While chatting, the officers and homeowners packed the sorted garbage. This sorting process speeds up the work of the officers because the trash bank operation in Banjarsuri Village has been running for years and certainly provides many benefits not only for the villagers but also for the environment.

Now, trash is not just disposed of in its place, but it also needs to be processed to provide benefits and value not only for the community but also to preserve the environment. One creative solution to manage and minimize the potential pollution of the environment is through a Trash Bank. Why a trash bank? Because this approach is considered more solution-oriented, which is to prevent waste generation (reduce), reuse waste, and recycle waste (recycle) or the 3R concept.

In Indonesia, the term "waste bank" is already familiar as many regions, both rural and urban areas, have implemented this concept as part of environmental programs. In its development, waste banks not only provide benefits to the environment but also to waste collectors, where collected waste is converted into money. This approach encourages community participation in sorting and selecting their waste before disposal. 

Waste issues should not be taken lightly, especially in large cities where it remains a serious problem without a clear solution. Therefore, awareness of waste management should be cultivated early on, not only in cities but also in rural areas. This awareness to manage waste in a way that does not harm the environment underpins the efforts of the Astra Beautiful Village (KBA) activists in Banjarsuri Village, South Lampung to implement a waste management program through the Go-Ban Waste Bank, aiming to maintain the village's environmental sanitation.

Banjarsuri Village is one of the villages located in the Sidomulyo District, South Lampung Regency. Being part of an area not far from Bakauheni Port, the gateway to Sumatra Island, there is great potential that, if developed to its fullest extent, could enhance the local economy. Geographically, Banjarsuri Village is not far from Mount Rajabasa, one of the mountains in Lampung Province with vast potential for development, such as conservation, geothermal energy, and tourism.

The abundance of potential in Mount Rajabasa is indeed a blessing for Banjarsuri Village, which with its abundant natural resources has been known for decades as the village of corn farmers. This is due to the large number of residents whose livelihood is farming corn. However, many villagers also grow other productive crops, choose to start businesses, or become livestock farmers.

There are five sub-villages under Banjarsuri Village with diverse backgrounds, from ethnicity, and religion, to culture. Despite this, the villagers live peacefully and side by side to achieve the dream of making Banjarsuri Village a clean, healthy, intelligent, and productive village, implemented through various activities within the 4 pillars of the village development plan. Among the many productive activities in Banjarsuri village development, there is one activity that has been actively carried out for many years and warmly welcomed by the community, which is the Go-Ban Waste Bank.

Turning Waste Into Money at GoBan Waste Bank, Banjarsuri Village, Lampung

GoBan Waste Bank, also known as Go-Ban, is one of the positive environmental activities in the Banjarsuri Village Development Agency (KBA). Its main goal is to reduce waste and encourage the residents, from children to adults, to segregate waste so that recyclable materials can be utilized. Saving waste in this waste bank has proven to play a significant role in maintaining cleanliness and sustainability in KBA Banjarsuri.

In its development, the positive contribution of the waste bank extends beyond just environmental benefits and supporting the local economy. Due to the effective management of the Go-Ban waste bank, this activity synergizes with other pillars such as Education, Entrepreneurship, and Health.

Within the environmental pillar, the waste bank contributes significantly to ensuring the sustainability of the environment. It encourages community involvement in proper waste management practices, including sorting and processing waste. The presence of the waste bank also helps in more effectively reducing waste accumulation, as waste collected by villagers periodically is picked up by waste bank personnel according to agreed-upon schedules. Typically, waste bank personnel collect prepared waste from Banjarsuri Village residents every Sunday morning.

Currently, there are quite a few residents of Banjarsuri Village who are customers of the Go-Ban Waste Bank, not only adults and mothers but also some young customers who regularly save waste at the waste bank. As a result, the environment of KBA Banjarsuri is starting to look cleaner and gradually moving towards a healthier, smarter, and more productive village. However, is the presence of the Go-Ban Waste Bank in KBA Banjarsuri only to strengthen environmental sustainability? Certainly not, as it turns out that in its development, the Go-Ban Waste Bank also contributes to strengthening education, entrepreneurship, and health pillars, thus the interconnection among pillars in KBA Banjarsuri is now more integrated.

The Go-Ban Waste Bank broadly has two programs, namely the Waste Management Program and the PusGaBin Program. The waste management program includes sellable waste, craftable waste, and compostable waste. As for the PusGaBin Program, its activities include village libraries as well as study and craft groups. This PusGaBin Program has a very strong correlation with the education pillar of KBA Banjarsuri.

From this waste bank, KBA Banjarsuri received a learning house that later became a village library, where children learn a lot of knowledge through books, magazines, and other library collections, which will help improve reading literacy among school-age children. Did you know? Literacy rates among school-age children in Indonesia are still relatively low.

In addition to the village library, from saving activities at the Go-Ban waste bank, children also receive other benefits, such as private English lessons and Quran memorization learning activities. What parent wouldn't be happy to see their children engage in positive activities besides school learning? Besides that, from saving activities at Go-Ban waste bank, children at KBA Banjarsuri learn from a young age to manage finances well, which is certainly beneficial for improving financial literacy in children.

Periodically, the Go-Ban Waste Bank also conducts various training sessions aimed at boosting entrepreneurial spirit in the Banjarsuri community. With plenty of entrepreneurial training materials available that can be shared with the villagers by utilizing existing natural resources. Need capital? Well, by diligently saving at the Go-Ban waste bank, the proceeds can be used as capital to start a small and medium-sized business.

Interested in being creative with waste? Go-Ban Waste Bank also offers training classes for those who want to get creative with waste to provide greater economic benefits. By participating in this training, villagers interested in recycling waste into craft items suitable for sale are allowed to learn and receive assistance with marketing. So, it turns out that saving at the waste bank not only provides villagers with the chance to improve their economy but also nurtures entrepreneurial spirit.