UNAIR NEWS – Due to the persistence and concern on waste management, Anca Laika, a student of Faculty of Public Health (FKM) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) was selected to participate in an international conference on International Zero Waste Cities Conference in Bandung. The first conference held by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) was held 5-7 March 2018.
To follow the IZWCC, Anca and other participants must go through a rigorous selection. One of the requirements, the participants have contributed in solving the garbage problem in their hometown for at least three years. Besides students, the conference is attended by lecturers, government, community, and environmental activists.
In the conference, the topic Anca studied was about diaper waste management through a diaper waste bank program called Lisa Kepo system. It was based on his paper which has passed the funding of Kemenristek Dikti through Student Creativity Program (PKM) of Community Service 2015.
At that time, the title was a Waste Diapers Bank With Lisa Kepo System (Buy Vegetable with Diaper) as an Effort to Reduce River Pollution in Surabaya .
“About 37 percent of river pollution in Surabaya is caused by baby diapers. The pollution brings extinction and intersexual abnormalities to fish. One of the triggers of extinction and intersexual abnormalities is due to the high content of organic matter in river water due to contamination of baby diapers, ” explained the sixth semester student of Environmental Health specialization.
During the conference, Anca continued, many national and international speakers were involved. One of them was Flor Berlingen, from Zero Waste France.
“Almost all speakers conveyed about the danger of using incinerator (waste burning container, ed) as a tool of domestic waste processing,” said alumnus of SMAN 16 Surabaya.
Other materials presented by speakers are Communities Campaigning Against False Solution, Flexing Youth Muscles For Zero Waste, Zero Waste In Health Care, Organizing Zero Waste Public Event , and many more.
Beside the conference, the participants were invited to get around visiting some villages in Bandung that already apply the principle of Zero Waste. He and other participants went around using Bandros (Bandung Tour on The Bus) provided by the government of Bandung.
The conference, held in commemoration of National Garbage Day and as follow-up of ‘Three Month Free Garbage” program was held in collaboration with the General Directorate of Waste, Hazardous and Toxic Substances Hazardous Management of the Ministry, the Provincial Government of West Java, Bandung City Government, Cimahi City Governmnet, and Bandung Regency Government.
Themed Circular City is a Future City , the conference was organized with the aim of disseminating an understanding of the Zero Waste principle in waste management to various stakeholders. (*)
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
