Essay: TaPe Uli’s Waste Recycling Project in Depok

Introduction

“Disasters are bound to happen if we cannot manage waste properly, such as what happened at the Leuwi Gajah final landfill in 2006. Collapsed mounds of waste claimed the lives of 157 people and wiped out two surrounding villages,” said the Mayor of Depok Mohammad Idris.

The waste management problem in Depok, West Java, must be viewed as an annual problem for which a solution must be sought from religious, environmental and economic perspectives. This is especially pertinent as Depok only has one final landfill in Cipayung. 

To prevent a repeat of this tragedy, efforts in waste management should be amplified by all stakeholders. At the grassroots level, for example, households could separate waste into organic and non-organic categories to facilitate a smoother and more efficient recycling process.

As the nation with the largest Muslim population, curiously, cleanliness remains an elusive concept. This is despite Prophet Muhammad’s emphasis on cleanliness – his famous hadith that “الطُّهُورُ شَطْرُ الإِيمَانِ” )aṭṭuhūru sharul imān – cleanliness is a part of faith) that highlights the importance of maintaining cleanliness and general purity.

The concept of aharah (cleanliness) is vast – it covers not only the purity of the soul from any kind of doubts but also the purity of the body, clothing, residence, drinks, food, as well as all facilities and tools used by humans.

This means purity in Islam should extend beyond our physical body to also include the environment and community where we reside at. Such value resonates strongly with the concept of SDGs and environmental protection, which promotion transcends the boundaries of one’s faith and belief.

From the Islamic perspective, environmental protection is also determined by two basic principles—maqasid al-shari’ah (the purposes of sharia) and maslahah (public interest). Maqasid al-shari’ah relates to five purposes: the protection of religion, life, reason/intellect, lineage and property. These are relevant to the fulfilment of maslahah, which leads towards societal welfare.

These two religious frameworks emphasise the significance of environmental protection as well as its relevance in building a community on the foundation of ethical and moral principles.

Separating types of waste

Depok is chosen as a case study owing to its ongoing waste problem. The city only has one tempat pembuangan akhir (final disposal site – TPA) in Cipayung. With an area of 200.29 km² and a population of around 2.1 million, Depok struggles to accommodate and process the high volume of waste daily.

Every day, as many as 925-1,165 tonnes of waste go to TPA Cipayung, where mounds of waste could go as high as 20 meters. Part of the problem is the population’s low level of awareness to undertake waste management processes, which could have reduced the accumulation of waste in TPA Cipayung.

The government needs to continue programmes in public education regarding waste management to alleviate this challenge. As mentioned above, anyone could and should be a participant in this effort, such as through separating wastes into organic and non-organic types.

Any member of a household can identify and separate organic waste from non-organic waste and residual. Organic waste includes wet waste, food scraps, dry leaves and tree branches, among other things. These could then be used for composting, which is beneficial for limited agricultural activities in a household. Currently, Regional Regulations No. 05 2014 on Waste mandates Depok’s Department of Environment and Hygiene to manage and process organic waste.

On the other hand, waste banks are responsible for handling non-organic waste. This waste type could be recycled into valuable items such as eco-craft products, which will be further explored below.

The last type of waste is residual, unusable parts or items that can be dumped in a final landfill. These can be used as combustion materials in an energy generation facility.

Therefore, the government can utilise the 3R strategy – namely reduce, reuse and recycle – to achieve common goals.

I argue that just 3R is not enough: An additional “R” (replace) should be inserted into the strategy to boost waste management further. This involves switching single-use products, such as plastic bags, with more durable and environmentally friendly items. This is already in line with the directive put forward by Depok City Regional Development Planning and Research Agency in 2022.

If everyone is taking up the simple task of separating different types of waste, the burden on TPA Cipayung might be lifted to a certain extent. This is why, again, it is incumbent on everyone to participate in this process, not to mention its strong emphasis by maqasid al-shari’ah and maslahah.

Community Endeavour

Ondel-Ondel dolls and purses are made of scrap fabric that does not decompose easily. Credit: TaPe Uli

There are ongoing community projects to tackle Depok’s waste problem, such as the collaboration between waste banks and the Tangan Peduli Lingkungan (Caring Hands for the Environment – TaPe Uli) community. This collaboration leverages community creativity to manage waste and increase income.

TaPe Uli was established in 2013 out of the community’s shared interest in preserving the environment in Depok, according to Madya Harmeka, its initiator. Its central paradigms are turning wastes into economically valuable products and raising societal awareness on the importance of environmental preservation.

To attain these noble goals, the group has undertaken activities in several areas, such as recycling wastes deposited at waste banks. Some of these waste banks have been managed by TaPe Uli since 2013.

Waste collected from around 129 waste banks in Depok is recycled into creative items and aesthetic, multipurpose containers. This process mostly utilises non-organic waste such as plastic bottles, duplex boards, glass bottles, plastic bags, metal objects and paper. Citizens could also deposit non-organic waste in their nearest waste banks and receive a little cash in return.

As a community, TaPe Uli also engages Depok’s communities as well as foreigners in knowledge sharing about its recycling process and recycled products, showcasing the opportunities for skill improvement and financial gain one might obtain by participating in the process. These are aligned with the maqasid al-shari’ah principle of protecting property (the environment) as well as with maslahah of earning extra income.

Products made from non-organic waste. Credit: TaPe Uli

Activism such as this also encourages citizens to be less dependent on the state or market and inculcates the virtue of self-reliance.

Some valuable products produced by the Tape Uli community include bags, purses, hats, stools, vases and aromatherapy candles. These items were produced from recycled waste, such as eco-bricks, cooking oil and plastic bags.

Conclusion

Maintaining hygiene and cleanliness is important not only as an act to preserve religion but also to protect humanity and the environment, thus becoming a public interest (maslahah) that everyone must observe.

Converting waste into valuable products is one avenue to achieve this goal. As a community, TaPe Uli is pursuing this route to realise its goal of environmental protection. While such activism has contributed positively to Depok’s waste management, more collaboration should be fostered between the government, the private sector and the grassroots to produce more impactful results.


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Author

  • Mariati Aprilia Harahap is a master’s student at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at Indonesian International Islamic University (IIIU). She is interested in Islam and environmental issues and can be contacted at mariati.harahap@uiii.ac.id or @aprilia.meli (Instagram).