
As the implementation of the Sustainable Environmental Management and Biotechnology Study Group Grant, 2024, the Postgraduate School (SPUB) team consisting of 7 Lecturers along with 3 Masters students of Environmental Resource Management and Development (PSLP) and 1 Doctoral student of Environmental Science (PDIL) conducted research in Dinoyo Village, Tlogomas, and Kotalama, Malang City. This research is a follow-up to the findings of the 2023 Study Group Grant in Dinoyo Village regarding the habits and behavior of the community in handling domestic waste.
This time, the SPUB Study Group team led by Wresti Listu Anggayasti, Ph.D. studied the habits of the community in managing domestic waste and the health of the Brantas River.
“The Brantas River upstream is in the Malang Raya area and flows to other cities in East Java, so it is very important to pay attention to the health of the Brantas River in Malang. This is also related to the status of the Brantas River which is heavily polluted. It is suspected that the main cause of this pollution is industrial waste and domestic waste,” said Wresti.
Wresti added that the main focus of this research is on microplastics.
“In 2023 we found in one of the sub-districts that the use of single-use plastics was very large. It is likely that the volume of plastic waste will also be large and if public awareness is low, littering into the Brantas River is very likely to occur. If this happens, both directly and indirectly, public health, especially in the Brantas River watershed, will be affected. Moreover, according to recent research, Indonesians are the second largest consumers of microplastics in the world,” he said.

Therefore, in this study, the student team went into the community and explored the perceptions of respondents from various age categories and occupations. The exploration of perceptions used questionnaires and structured interviews that focused on investigating the knowledge, preferences, and ways of residents managing plastic waste. Meanwhile, the Lecturer team studied the health of the Brantas Watershed at three stations in each Sub-district area which was measured by the number of microplastic particles per liter of river water and the presence of macroinvertebrates. Its purpose is as a mapping of water quality and river pollution status which is most likely closely related to community behavior.
In general, the findings obtained in the downstream area of the Brantas River in Malang City area are quite worrying. The number of respondents who admitted to throwing garbage directly into the river was very high, reaching 80% of the sample population. This turned out to be related to the levels of microplastics in the sampling area of the sub-district, which reached almost 16 particles per liter of river water. The number of Macroinvertebrates that survived there was also the smallest compared to the other two sub-districts. This illustrates the inadequate carrying capacity of the aquatic environment to support the life of aquatic organisms. The results of this study have been published in the Scopus Q3 indexed journal.
“We cannot imagine what is happening in the Brantas River flow outside Malang City towards the North Coast, if in the City area itself, it can be said to be heavily polluted both according to the calculation of microplastic particles and the SIGNAL-2 category for Macroinvertebrates, so that further studies or research are needed to formulate integrated policies that primarily focus on the behavior of the Brantas Watershed community in Malang City. And, of course, we will continue other research related to the Brantas River, to help the health and sustainability of the largest river in East Java,” she concluded. (UB PR/ Trans. Iir)