Solid Waste Management in Eco-campus toward a Circular Economy

Garbage is a resource that we waste every day. In fact, there are so many sources of industrial raw materials that we can extract from materials that we throw away all the time. To create a circular economy and as an intellectual centre, campus is supposed to be able to manage its own waste before it is disposed to the municipal landfill area. The characteristics of campus waste will be different from household waste or market waste or waste from other sources. To save the energy needed in transporting and processing waste at the landfill site, it should be managed independently by campus by employing the principles of sustainability. The 3R method is the solution. Reduce or reduce waste can be done by using items that are durable or not disposable. Reuse can be done using used paper that is still suitable for memos, envelopes, etc. Recycle can be done on organic waste by composting, producing animal feed, or even creating new and renewable energy. The garbage from each unit and even every room on campus must be sorted from the time it is generated. For this reason, it is necessary to provide solid waste facilities in each room to the processing centre on campus.

There are several types of garbage on campus. Inorganic waste in the form of paper and goods packaging, food and beverage packaging. The forms can be paper, duplex, cardboard, plastic, bottles, cans, metal. Organic waste can come from the canteen, leftovers from rooms, leaves and grass clippings from lane sweeping and garden maintenance. Residual waste includes tissue, candy wrappers, sanitary napkins (from the toilet). Hazardous and toxic materials include batteries, used solvents, radioactive waste, leftover chemicals, light bulbs.

The implementation of a sustainable campus must be mutually agreed upon and carried out consistently by all campus stakeholders and fully supported by the principals. Planning can be started with a list of efforts to reduce waste generation, sorting, compartmentalizing, processing, and saving resources (water, stationery, electricity).

The management system is implemented in several stages. Socialization can be done by means of circulars, announcement boards and at official meetings, at new student admissions events. The essence of good waste management is sorting waste from its source. Thus, the waste generated is placed in their designated places. Campus should provide several types of trash cans in each room or in each office unit so that residents can easily dispose of garbage properly. In addition, in certain places on campus special trash boxes are provided, for example, each type for glass packaging, for duplex and cardboard packaging, for plastic bottles, for metals, for electronic waste. The campus also has to have a proper clean and hygienic waste processing centre and a waste bank. Reduce and reuse is done using durable materials. Examples are reusable envelopes, folders, refill markers with high-quality materials. Plates, spoons, cups for meetings should use reusable ones (not disposable). Replacement of disposable with organic materials can be accomplished by replacing paper plates with banana leaves and providing plastic pack-free snacks during meetings. Recycle, for example, is composting the road sweeps and garden maintenance and organic waste from the canteen / from rooms. Inorganic waste such as paper can be neatly tied up, stored in a temporary warehouse in each unit/building or deposited directly to the waste management centre/waste bank. Other inorganic wastes are disposed of according to its designated place (glass, duplex and cardboard, metal, plastic bottles and cups, other plastics). The residual waste is collected in a garbage bin to be transported by the governmental sanitary agency. If residual waste can be reduced to a minimum, the agency services can be reduced to a minimum and at the same time will help to solve the problem of regional solid waste. Waste from the laboratory: bacteria and other microbes should be autoclaved and then it can be treated as ordinary waste and separated according to its category. Tissue waste and sanitary napkins from the toilet are treated as residual waste. Small vehicles for transporting garbage such as pickups or trash rickshaws can be useful.

The campus waste processing facility can be used as a waste processing laboratory for students of related study programs (agriculture, animal husbandry, public health, mechanical engineering, etc.). Processing can be in the form of composting, biogas generation, production of solid waste pellets,  maggots cultivation for the animal, and others. The processing facility is equipped with appropriate processing facilities and infrastructure and health and safety equipment.

Monitoring and evaluation can be done in several stages. The garbage police can be formally formed from security officers on campus and all campus members are garbage cops on campus. To achieve the target, at certain events a cleaning competition can be held between study programs or between faculties with one of the points being the amount of waste bank savings and the amount of residue generated. Reward and punishment that have been mutually agreed upon can be applied at this stage.

The campus is also expected to be at the forefront of research innovations for sustainable and environmentally friendly waste processing and daily necessities.