Shamira 11F

Subject: English
Topic Class: Basic Engineering B

Our Relationship with Waste

We have a problem with waste product. People constantly dispose products,
and when we do, we take out a lot. In a short period of time, we can produce so
much waste products. Primarily plastic. Plastic has many types. Some of them are
recyclable, some are not. This is why plastic are sorted out, because if they are
mixed in the facility, the non-recyclable plastic becomes poison and leaks into the
other plastics. It is time to take a look into the workings and problems of waste
processing.

In Jakarta and many parts of the world, trash is collected by garbage trucks.
From these trucks, they have more branches that show where they go to collect
the trash. They collect from different parts of a city, in this instance, Jakarta. It
can go to collect trash from homes, from factories, from offices, shops, and other
waste producing places. This includes pavements, which is first collected by trash
collectors then given to garbage trucks at temporary dumping places. It does not
always have to be from infrastructure places, it can also be from rivers. These are
collected with shoveling machines to take heaps of trash and transfer them to
trucks. From there, based on Inside Indonesia, it goes to the final dumping site,
which is to Bekasi for Jakartas wastes.

Other than just dumping the trash in sites, There are also recycling facilities
in the area. However, this is not always effective. As an example most of the
recycled waste paper that is used in Indonesia outweighs the amount of recycled
waste paper in Indonesia. This is because most recycled products are imported.
This means that most of the papers that could be recycled in Indonesia is sent to
the normal final dumping sites without being recycled (Pieter 86).

Most people do not think when they are disposing trash. Most people just
throw all kinds of trash at the same place without sorting them, or without giving
them a second thought before it gets sent away permanently.

Most are from disposed food packaging. This is something that many people
meet in their daily lives. There are many types of food packaging. These include
plastic, aluminum, cardboard, wood, glass, paper (3) and styrofoam. They are not
reused most of the time, as it has come into contacts with food, and cleaning the
packaging might damage it. Other than that, some of the materials used to make
food packaging cannot be recycled. Although most plastics are recyclable or
biodegradable, other plastics are not and would last hundreds of years and are not
safe for the environment. Styrofoam also cannot be recycled.
 Because of this, there is one way to get rid of these materials quickly based
on our current understanding of these elements. That is to burn them. Even then
they smell terrible. Not only that, but they can be toxic and create air pollution
when there are no precautions. If it is utilized, plastic can become a source of
energy (Alison 22).

Issues have come up as the population of an area grows and even more
waste is produced. This has been evident as in a few years ago, Jakarta was facing
conflict with Bekasi when they had an increase in their waste. In the past it was
Unthinkable that Bekasi could challenge the powerful Capital City Special District.
(2). Bekasi increased the amount of fee of land and the amount of land Jakarta
used to dispose waste was too large to be worth paying. People were blocking
the ways to the dumping sites in 2007 (2).

The news of waste problems have not ceased. The main problems to waste
include the decreasing amount of areas where landfills can be established. Many
people think that the waste they dispose, especially organic waste, will
disintegrate quickly enough, so people can get careless with them. However, when
they come from millions of people, the landfills can quickly fill up and they are
often not clear when next month comes and more trash arrives. When this
happens, they might be sent to another country. However the trash might not be
regulated and instead be disposed in areas where the waste might threaten the
environment such as the ocean or in a forest.

Fortunately the governments of many countries have been releasing acts to

try to provide a safer and healthier environment for everyone. This includes an
official recycling facility for cities, a more effective trash collecting method, and
more types of waste processing. Methane gas production from trash is used as a
resource to generate electricity (4).

There are also ways that the public can reduce the production of waste.
These are commonly said, but not everyone takes it into account. These are the
famous 3R, and just to do one of them can help reduce the amount of trash
produced when done frequently. The aforementioned recycling facilities can be
found more frequently in this current era. In Jakarta, an example of a recycling
facility is Kedai Mendaur Ulang in Mampang Prapatan XI. By sorting the trash in
the house, the recyclable ones are sent to the recycling facility in a nearby area,
and sending the others to the normal final dumping site. Another is by buying
more biodegradable products, and reduce the use of plastic products that are
meant to be disposed after use. With reusing, waste can be utilized creatively, and
be used for different functions, and can last longer before it would need to be
thrown away.

There is in fact many troubles in the subject of waste. People make so much
of them and this causes problems in disposing them properly. They can cause
multiple environmental pollutions. Now the countries are putting out measures to
reduce this problem and to make the environment cleaner and healthier for
citizens. The citizens can also help reducing wastes by taking actions themselves.
If we can utilize trash to our advantage, we can eradicate more problems.
 Bibliography

1. Beukering, Pieter. J. V. Recycling, International Trade and the Environment: An

Empirical Analysis. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publisher.
2. Lucas, Anton. Jakartas Rubbish Nightmare. Inside Indonesia. Indonesia Resources
and Information Program, Jul 26 2007. Web. Feb 19 2017.
3. Pence, Garrison. Different Types of Food Packaging. Leaf TV. Leaf, Web. Feb 20.
4. Rachmawati, Ira. Saat Elpiji Digantikan Gas Metan dari Tumpukan Sampah.
Kompas. Kompas, 5 Jun 2014, Web. Feb 17 2017.
5. Rae, Alison. Oil, Plastics and Power. London: Evans Brothers Limited, 2009.