T

he parents of pupils at Junjung Biru kindergarten in Tuan Kentang subdistrict, Sebrang Ulu I district, Palembang, South Sumatra, can keep their money in their pockets as they pay their children'€™s school fees using recyclable garbage.

The kindergarten, which belongs to Syalfitri, a resident concerned about waste management, has been operating for five years.

Syalfitri used to operate a trash bank at her home, where she collected saleable trash. Later, she developed it into a kindergarten and an elderly health center, which required payments in the form of waste.

'€œI have worked hard to establish the school and trash bank. Thank God, it has finally paid off and gets support from neighboring residents,'€ she said recently.

At least 30 children are enrolled in the kindergarten. Their parents hand over an amount of garbage to a staff member when they drop their child at the school. The parents are obliged to bring waste worth Rp 40,000 (US$3.20) per month to cover the school fees. If the value of the waste exceeds the required amount, it will be deposited as savings in the trash bank.

The kindergarten does not merely collect garbage from parents but also teaches the children to take care of their environment and to be aware of their personal hygiene.

'€œOur students are taught to avoid littering through songs. We also teach them to make craft from waste and wash their hands properly,'€ Misnaini, a teacher, said.

Parents have welcomed the unique kindergarten as they have benefited from its payment policy. They said they could give examples to their children to keep their surroundings clean while sending them to school.

'€œMy children no longer litter on the streets after being enrolled here. I am also glad I don'€™t need to think about the tuition,'€ Eli Ardiani, 27, said.

Fauziah, another parent, said her child was not only used to throwing garbage in bins but also saw it as valuable material.

'€œEvery time we spot trash, my child will ask me to save it to pay the school fee,'€ she said.

Junjung Biru also collects recyclable waste from neighbors. Syalfitri and her co-workers visit nearby neighborhoods to collect various waste in the form of unused paper, newspaper, vegetables and much more. They separate the organic waste and produce fertilizer. Meanwhile, the non-organic waste is sold to a bigger seller. Syalfitri said she paid various prices for waste she purchased from residents. She pays Rp 4,000 per kilogram for plastic waste that has been cut up, Rp 3,000 for plastic mineral water cups and Rp 1,000 for plastic mineral water bottles.

'€œI can spend Rp 500,000 on buying garbage from neighbors,'€ she said, adding that she could collect 100 kilograms of organic and non-organic waste monthly.

Some of the waste is transformed into creative craft work such as bags, pencil boxes and various home decorations.

Despite her perseverance to educate neighbors about waste management, Syalfitri still gets smart comments from neighbors who consider her an over-the-top environmentalist.

'€œWhen I saw some residents dumping garbage on the street, I told them to save the garbage at the trash bank. However, they said that even the neighborhood head did not tell them to do so,'€ she said.

Syalfitri said she did not back down when she received resistance from neighbors. She said she was supported by many other neighbors and various sectors. Sriwijaya University in South Sulawesi, for example, helped her by offering training to residents on how to make fertilizer from organic waste.

Meanwhile, state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina recently donated a garbage motorcycle, organic waste bins and LCD projector worth Rp 120 million.