RECYCLING WASTE IN SUWUNG TPA, A COOPERATION OF SCOPE WITH BALI CATTLE

The tendency of the amount of waste that continues to increase today is a problem for several large cities that have high levels of population density. This exact problem also occurs in several cities in Bali and is now a quite serious problem. Every day the amount of waste is increasing, especially after the religious holidays, the number  is almost double compared to normal days. Rubbish piles up in temporary dumps (TPS) and even in some locations until it overflows onto the highway. The Sanitation Office in charge of transporting waste feels trapped and overwhelmed because waste production is out of control. The Bali Post newspaper, one local media, reported that waste production throughout Bali could reach 10,000 cubic meters per day. The urban area contributes around 4,800 cubic meters while the rest is from rural waste. Of that amount 79 percent is organic waste and 21 percent is inorganic waste. Mitigation efforts from the government through the education movement to the community in handling waste are things that have been done. It is not just a way to move or dispose of rubbish from the house to a temporary landfill (TPS) and then be transported by officers to be disposed of in a final landfill (TPA). But more to the community's concern in managing waste independently and not polluting the environment.

In TPA, garbage is usually burned after the scavengers pick up their dry or inorganic waste such as aqua bottles, plastic bags, cardboard boxes, paper or plastic slippers. The purpose of combustion is that the volume of garbage that is mounting is reduced so that the place is more durable and has a longer lifespan to be used as a landfill.

In some big cities where landfills do not burn, garbage is bulldozed to make it even and dense, and is used to fill several basins in the area. After that the garbage is degraded with soil and compacted, the place can then be used as new land to add a place of settlement or other public facilities. Next come back to look for new land as a location for a replacement landfill.

But the phenomenon that occurs at the Denpasar Suwung Landfill is that depreciation of waste is done not only by burning and compaction, but also by recycling it using the life recycle cooperation of scavengers and bali cattles. The scavengers are entrusted by cattles by the breeders so that while collecting garbage they also herd cattle in that place.

The problem is that most of the garbage thrown away at the landfill is a mixture of wet or soft organic waste originating from household kitchens, hotels, restaurants, markets and dry (inorganic) rubbish such as plastic, cans and other hard materials. The cattle which are offered at the TPA only paw or eat only wet waste. The dry garbage is temporarily collected by scavengers who herd them.

By eating partly the wet garbage and scavengers taking partly the dry garbage too, the volume of garbage in the landfill shrinks and makes it not fill up quickly. Reported as additional news that the cows grazed in the trash can become fat. But the question that is quite intriguing us is, are the cattles which incidentally  herbivorous animals, are in good condition eating material that is not grass and forage?

According to several research from related institutions, up to now there has never been an accident in eating among the bali cattles. Although the garbage is often mixed with other hazardous materials, the bali cattles clearly have an instinct to defend themselves and do not blindly choose hazardous waste as their food. They even look fatter and fleshier than cows raised with ordinary grass feed.

Fat is allegedly because in addition to eating forage, they also eat restaurant waste, such as meat, fat, bread, vegetables that have enough nutrients. This kind of rubbish was completely consumed by them and was very enjoyable.

Whatever explanation is conceived to explain the phenomenon of the fat cattle  is not a problem. What is clearly encouraging is that the Suwung landfill is not full quickly thanks to the recycling of wet waste by bali cattles that have found a new grazing place. The idea to plant cattle in a landfill is worth a try by another landfill that undoubtedly becomes increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of trash that is increasingly overflowing.