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Bali to turn garbage into fertilizer
The Bali administration said it planned to build plants to turn organic garbage into fertilizer in an effort to manage waste in an environmentally friendly and more economical manner
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he Bali administration said it planned to build plants to turn organic garbage into fertilizer in an effort to manage waste in an environmentally friendly and more economical manner.
Governor Made Mangku Pastika said Saturday that building the garbage processing plants was part of the administration's master plan to be a "green province".
"Initially, we will build three small-scale plants close to Besakih Temple in Karangasem, Goa Lawah, in Klungkung and Batur Temple in Kintamani, Bangli," he said during a simakrama (public forum).
A monthly simakrama, which is attended by the governor and open to the public, has been a prominent feature of Pastika's administration.
"The plants will be used primarily to handle leftovers from religious offerings collected from the temples, as well as waste from area residences," the governor said.
The food given at religious offerings and rituals usually ends up as mostly organic waste.
Normally, residents dispose of the waste by dumping it into nearby waterways or by incineration. Both methods pose public health and environmental hazards.
Pastika said the project would be funded by the province's 2010 budget.
"This will also add economic value to the garbage because the fertilizer generated could be used by farmers. This fertilizer is, of course, environmentally friendly."
If this pilot project works, Pastika added, the administration would construct more plants in other areas.
The governor admitted that waste management was problematic in the province and was a key object of complaint by tourists.
Bali produces more than 2,500 cubic meters of garbage every day.
Since 2001, the administration has also carried out an integrated garbage management project by collecting waste from Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan at the Suwung landfill and using the garbage to generate electricity.
The 10-hectare Suwung site in Denpasar was initially overloaded. It was then expanded by 38 hectares, edging out the surrounding mangrove forest.
The administration is currently drafting a bylaw on waste management. The governor said the administration was also considering allowing private firms to run waste management.
