From trash to cash. Suhirman Adita (left), an environment activist, and two colleagues sort recyclable materials collected in Bank Sampah Mataram (BSM), the Mataram Recycling Center, in Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Sunday. The BSM program which was initiated in 2012 provides buy-back offers on recyclable materials such as beverage cans, bottles, cardboard boxes and used papers. Beyond the environmental benefits, the waste recycling program brings direct economic benefits to local communities. (JP/Panca Nugraha) 

A locally initiated waste recycling program Bank Sampah Mataram (BSM), or the Mataram Recycling Center, has yielded a wide variety of benefits, including education financial aid for students from low income families, since it started in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), in 2012.

BSM head Suhirman Adita said the BSM program had been introduced in 13 Islamic primary schools (madrasah ibtidaiyah) in Mataram in March. The program provided recycling bins to each classroom and students collected their recyclable materials.

He said the initiative had proven to be quite effective in keeping the schools clean and to provide education financial aid for poor students there.

'The students now have savings that they can use when they go to the next [school] level or upon graduation,' Suhirman told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Education saving is one of four types of savings, including Lebaran (the Idul Fitri Islamic holiday) saving, regular saving, and social saving, developed under the BSM program.

The BSM program is simple. Anyone can bring household garbage, such as cardboard boxes, used newspapers and beverage cans to the center and they receive savings in return.

Currently, 1,135 residents actively participate in the BSM program started officially in January 2013. (asw/ebf)

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