The waste problem is still a problem that is difficult to overcome, the production of organic and inorganic household waste continues to increase as the population increases and people’s consumption patterns continue to increase. Therefore, there is a need for special and sustainable handling to overcome these problems as an alternative solution to the waste problem in Permanu village. Waste banks are one of the solutions offered so that the flow of waste management is more organized and has a positive impact on the environment. Seeing the problems that exist in the village of Permanu, Group 157 MMD UB under the guidance of Reika Happy Sugiastuti, S.AB., M.AB took the initiative to create a Waste Bank in collaboration with the Permanu Village government and PKK women. The activity began with the socialization of the program which was welcomed by the Chairperson of the PKK, Mrs. Sri “In my opinion, the program regarding the waste bank is indeed needed for the village of Permanu because indeed waste management in this village is very lacking, seeing from the current condition of Permanu Village it will be very useful to establish a Waste Bank to make residents more aware of waste management”, he explained when the socialization activity took place in the PKK room in Permanu Village on Saturday (15/07/2023). Through this socialization, it can increase the understanding of residents regarding the program that will be run and can increase the high economic value of the waste produced every day. In addition to the formation of the Waste Bank, there is also a waste bank empowerment program for waste bank administrators. The Waste Bank empowers PKK women to become administrators with one of their tasks being sorting and processing household waste.
The mechanism of the Garbage Bank is almost the same as a bank in general, which requires administrators and customers, but the difference is that saving is not with money but with inorganic waste. Through the waste bank, it turns out that waste can be empowered into something that has a value of rupiah. One of the activities to realize the Waste Bank is a location survey along with prices at collectors. The culminating activity of the Waste Bank program by Group 157 MMD UB is the Waste Bank Commemoration and Waste Bank Implementation which was held in the yard of Mrs. Wiwin’s house on Saturday (29/07/2023). The waste collected will be filtered or sorted first by the management and then collected based on the value of each type of waste. The results of the value can be converted into rupiah based on the value in the waste catalog. People who come to exchange waste are then made customers, so that the community has rupiah savings like a regular bank.
Through this activity, many residents are interested in saving waste, with the largest waste savings from customers reaching 9 kg. “It’s not bad, especially with the daily waste such as snack wrappers, shampoo wrappers, detergent wrappers that accumulate at home, instead of being thrown away, they can be exchanged for money,” said one of the customers. The Village Waste Bank is present as a solution to reduce the negative impact of waste and become one of the places that can be used to improve the community’s economy in an effort to maximize the value of recycled waste.
With the implementation of the program carried out by Group 157 MMD Brawijaya University, it is hoped that the residents of Permanu Village can change the pattern of disposing of waste properly, increase public awareness of the importance of sorting waste, and join as waste bank customers because waste has a high selling value. Hopefully, the establishment of “Waste Bank” in Permanu Village can improve the community’s economy, improve social relations, and reduce the volume of waste in the neighborhood so as to create a clean and healthy environment.
