Garbage in, money out in Bali’s first trash bank

Denpasar resident Made Bagiada has opened the first trash “bank” in the island, where clients applying for a loan would receive the loan in cash only to pay back in installments in plastic bags filled with garbage.

“A registered client could get a cash loan of up to Rp 200,000 and pay it later in garbage, literally,” he said Tuesday, acknowledging that the loan ceiling was small compared to regular banks.

“That’s because my bank still has limited funds,” he said.

On the other hand, he boasted, regular banks wouldn’t have a credit scheme where their immaculate lobbies doubled as a garbage drop-off point.

Bagiada’s house cum office in Kesiman Petilan village, East Denpasar, now receives an average of 5 tons of garbage a day, which speaks a lot about his clients’ commitment to paying off their debts.

Bagiada said he came upon the idea of establishing a trash bank in Bali on a trip to Bantul, Yogyakarta, that was organized by the Denpasar Waste and Parks Agency. In Bantul, he said, he had an opportunity to closely observe the operation of a pioneering trash bank.

“The system implemented in that bank was simple and easy. Such a scheme could trigger bigger and wider public participation in dealing with the problem of garbage,” he said.

Upon his return to Bali, Bagiada immediately set to work on the idea. He said he believed the bank would be warmly welcomed by low-income families, particularly those who worked as trash pickers.

Bagiada claims 100 individuals were registered as regular clients, most of them trash pickers. However, he said, the number of clients who were not trash pickers was growing. “We have clients from all walks of life. They send their household garbage to us.”

The bank offsets a maximum of Rp 3,000 for each kilogram of garbage sent by its clients.

However, only recyclable garbage commanded that price. The client are then given a choice of depositing the money into their account at the bank or pocketing the cash.

The bank’s 10 workers then clean, sort and package the garbage before sending it to recycling facilities in Java. “Next year the bank will purchase an organic garbage processor to handle organic trash. Currently we are in dire need of a plastic trash compactor,” he said.

During a recent visit to the bank, Denpasar Mayor IB Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra lauded Bagiada’s initiative, calling it a creative way to cope with the city’s chronic garbage problem.

“It also provides economic benefits to those who join the scheme,” he said, adding that the scheme should be replicated by every subdistrict in the city.