T

he United States is helping Indonesia tackle its waste problem by providing funds for proposals submitted by Indonesians.

Each successful proposal will get between US$50,000 and $250,000 provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Municipal Waste Recycling Program (MWRP), US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan said during the screening of A Plastic Ocean, a documentary on marine debris, at @america on Wednesday evening.

The disbursed funds, however, will only match the costs described in the proposals. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 31.

Donovan said the US State Department provided funding of $135,000 in 2016 and 2017 for an online geographic and information system application in Bali called GRINGGO, which can be accessed from its website or downloaded from Google Play Store.

“The US hopes that this project will result in scalable, sustainable, waste management activities that could be replicated by other communities across the country,” he said.

“The city of Denpasar uses this data to assess their waste management.”