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Wilda Yanti: In pursuit of a zero-waste society
Wilda Yanti (JP/Juliana Harsianti)It never occurred to Wilda Yanti that waste would eventually become an important part of her life
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Wilda Yanti (JP/Juliana Harsianti)
It never occurred to Wilda Yanti that waste would eventually become an important part of her life. During her childhood, the ethnic Minang woman felt disgusted by the sight of piles of garbage.
Wilda left her hometown in West Sumatra to study information and technology in Jakarta in 1998. She also worked as a field inspector with a Japanese company in Cibitung, Bekasi, West Java, during that time. After graduation, she marketed IT products while waiting for the right moment to start her own business. She planned to quit her office job once her business was established.
Wilda did her office work while handling various ventures, from selling garments online to opening a chicken noodle eatery. When she got married, her husband helped her with the business. Unfortunately, the noodle business did not go well and they had to close it down.
The couple, wanting a fresh start, listed a number of business ideas to explore. Based on their observations, few people were engaged in waste management.
'People just think about how to find garbage dumps without considering that [trash] could be turned into something useful. Meanwhile, junkyards are getting limited,' she said.
Unlike plastic trash, organic waste is still undervalued and is mostly ignored by scavengers. Household garbage in fact dominates waste production in Jakarta and other big cities, and could create problems unless it is properly utilized.
Through experimentation and consultation with garbage handling communities, Wilda then started researching technology to process organic waste. She finally came up with a composting process that gave off no putrid smell.
At first, she failed to attract her neighbors to composting. Undaunted, she invited people from outside her housing complex to practice waste processing and use organic fertilizer for their gardens. Wilda also used the organic fertilizer to grow her flowers and vegetables, a move that gradually inspired her neighbors to follow suit.
As the neighborhood's organic fertilizer consumption was low, she sought ways of marketing the homemade compost to various organic estates and later built a foundation overseeing organic plantations and farms to buy the compost from the local community.
Realizing the good prospects of the business, she converted the foundation into a company called PT Xaviera Global Synergy. With the expansion of her business, Wilda received an offer to assist a number of villages in Central Java in garbage processing.
Today, the company does not only handle compost production but also the recycling of inorganic products such as plastics, polystyrene foam and sanitary napkins. As the waste management business makes headway, Wilda has also devised an apparatus to turn organic material into biogas.
Biogas can be expensive, so Wilda offers it under different schemes to communities or housing areas interested in becoming partners. 'Some make flat purchases, meaning they just buy the device. Others choose profit sharing, through which they use compost and biogas sale profits to pay for it,' she said, adding that those who opted for flat purchases would also get access to marketing facilities.
The company provides continuous guidance for its clients, so they can get ongoing help for problems related to the purchased instruments. 'Most waste processing firms only sell their tools and explain how to use them without further assistance,' said the mother of three.
To promote waste separation among scavengers and residents, Wilda offers a higher price to those who separate organic waste from the inorganic rubbish.
'Actually, people have been encouraged to separate their waste, but they think the trash will be mixed up in the garbage dumps, so they are reluctant to do so,' she said.
Wilda believes scavengers are still the spearhead of waste collection, especially in cities and housing complexes. 'They know the spots where waste is gathered and they also form their own groups,' she said.
Wilda's company now cooperates with factories, hotels and restaurants. Although she has seen success in her waste management business, she is anticipating other business opportunities.
'Waste management should be the city administrations' responsibility,' she said.
Once city officials are ready with their own waste processing arrangements, Wilda is set to explore other business ideas.
