Ananta Wijaya and Luh De Suriyani, Contributors, Gianyar | Mon, 10/27/2008 1:02 PM
Gianyar will soon become the first regency in Bali involved in a global carbon trading scheme, after the Temesi waste management facility was declared a carbon credit provider last year.
The scheme is regulated through the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The garbage processing facility in Temesi village was initiated by the Rotary Club Bali Ubud and an environmental NGO, the Gelombang Udara Segar (GUS) Foundation.
The Rotary Club Bali Ubud is currently responsible for managing the garbage processing method, while the Temesi village is responsible for managing the facility.
The facility was registered at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2007. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) audited the facility, and last August declared that the facility's composting method met CDM standards.
The proposal submitted by the Temesi garbage processing facility's management was selected by the UN body as the best out of 353 proposals submitted by projects across Asia and the Pacific.
"We use the aerobic decomposition technique to process garbage into compost," Rotary Club Bali Ubud project leader David Kuper said.
Following the audit, the UN body decided that Temesi garbage processing facility was entitled to carbon credits amounting to 77,000 tons of CO2 over a 10-year period.
The facility can trade those credits with institutions and companies wanting to offset their carbon emission or compensate for emissions higher than their allocated quota.
"So far, Swiss-based company Kuoni has expressed interest in purchasing our carbon credits," Kuper added.
Kuoni is a major tour operating company.
The Temesi project implementation leader, Budi Wiradnyana from the GUS Foundation, said the facility had a daily production capacity of 15 tons. The targeted daily production is 50 tons, he said.
"Meanwhile, only a tiny fraction of the facility's production is absorbed by the market. Hotels on the island purchase a total of 15 tons of compost per month. This is one of our primary obstacles,"he said.
Wiradnyana said the funds generated from trading the facility's carbon credits with emission-producing companies would significantly help the facility cover its operational costs, provide the local village with financial contributions, expand the facility and establish similar facilities in other parts of the island and the country.
The facility was established four years ago. The Gianyar regency provided the facility with a two hectare plot of land, out of which 45 acres were used for the construction of the processing plant.
Temesi garbage processing facility provides job opportunities for as many as 76 people.
"In the future, the facility will be a model business enterprise owned and managed by the village," Wiradnyana said.
The facility has also played a significant role in changing the local people's views toward making a living from garbage. Previously, the local looked down upon such jobs.
Nowadays, as many as 40 locals work at the facility, separating organic trash from inorganic trash.
"I have begun to enjoy this work,"Ni Made Sariningsih, a local woman, said.
Sariningsih and ten other local women were sifting through a twometer high garbage heap. Their hands were protected by industrial gloves and all of them were wearing masks.
"Out of 250 kilograms of garbage I usually manage to get organic waste worth around Rp 10,000 (US$1) each day,"she said.
Each day, the facility received around 100 tons of garbage. Only half can be processed into compost.
