The Rukun Warga-based 3Rs and waste bank as sustainable solid waste management strategy

Abstract

Communities store a potential power to support overall performance of urban solid waste management through various creative and innovative arrangements. In Indonesia, the Rukun Warga (RW) is the lowest hierarchy of community organizational system which can implement creative and innovative arrangements to support solid waste management activities with less financial requirement. This study observed RW-based activity on fifty RWs with 412 respondents in terms of 3Rs, household waste separation, waste recycling business and waste bank system undertaken by the community for the sake of cleanliness and income-earning. The result shows that the correlation between level of the activity of the RWs communities in undertaking 3Rs, recycling business and waste bank, and the perceived cleanliness by the community members was validated. It is also showed positive results such as improved urban environment and provided strong push-factor influencing the community members to join the movement and the activities towards sustainable solid waste management are not always cost-intensive activities but a sociallybounded engagement would also workable.