Waste sorting in Kuta Male
Waste sorting in Kuta Male
The Kuta Male waste sorting project is a pilot project to tackle pollution in the Kuta Buluh area in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, launched in 2018 by the Kukang Rescue Program under the auspices of the PASAL Foundation. The organization has been actively fighting the illegal trade in animals in this area for several years and protects slow lorises and other endangered wild animals. The main goal of the project was to introduce a waste management system in this area and to familiarize residents with the basic principle of waste sorting and its further processing, thus reducing pollution in the village of Kuta Male located on the border with the protected Leuser forest ecosystem.
Causes of environmental pollution in Indonesia
Along with the globalization of the market, a large amount of waste appeared in Indonesia before systematic mechanisms for its further processing were created in the country. In Indonesia, however, waste management is still generally at a low level and there is considerable environmental pollution, which threatens animals not only in the oceans but also on land. Collection points and the possibility of sorting and further processing of waste are missing in most of Indonesia.
Project activities
The project was focused on finding a comprehensive and effective solution to the problem of (not only) plastic pollution because waste collection itself only has a very short-term effect. Therefore, collection points for sorted waste and a simple composting site were built, but an important part of the project was also familiarizing locals of all age groups with the basic principle of waste sorting, its reduction, and further processing. In addition to lectures for the villagers, local children also participated in a fun way during the weekend when the project was officially launched. To increase their interest in waste sorting, the children could use brushes and paints to decorate new waste bins according to their ideas. The partner non-profit organization Arta Jaya, based in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, was contracted for the regular collection and further processing of sorted waste.
How Ostrava Zoo helps
Ostrava Zoo has been closely cooperating with the community in the village of Kuta Male for a long time through the Kukang Rescue Program, which has built an environmental library for children here and considers this location suitable for the release of rehabilitated animals. To protect the area from poaching of endangered and protected species, the program helps to improve the financial situation of local farmers through the Kukang Coffee project, while employing former slow loris and pangolin poachers from the village as its field assistants and Kukang Coffee team members. In addition, the waste sorting project was supported in 2018 thanks to the "1 CZK for Wildlife" program, and the Ostrava Zoo thus became the project's main partner.
