On 18th September (World Cleanup Day), R.O.L.E. Foundation organized the first Waste Exchange to Product Bazaar for the local community of Sawangan village in Nusa Dua. Prior to the Bazaar, people could participate in beach cleanups or bring waste to the ZeroWaste Center in exchange for waste vouchers.
During the Bazaar, these waste vouchers could be exchanged for groceries like rice, eggs, sugar, tea, coffee, and vegetables. Also, school materials for the children such as pens, pencils, books, and pencil cases. And last but not least, all sorts of sweet traditional cake and chocolates will also be found at the bazaar.
To our pleasant surprise, the community responded very positively, especially the kids who come to the ZeroWaste Center every Wednesday for English Class. This is the reason why we have extended the project and decided to plan a second bazaar on the 17th December 2021 after the monthly Beach Cleanup.
What is the Bazaar about?
The bazaar’s goal is to spread awareness about the value of waste. The roads and fields in the villages are often polluted with waste and this is a hazard for both the environment and the communities that live there. Besides showing that waste has economic value, it’s also important to educate the local community members about the different types of plastic and how to separate it, so that it becomes recyclable. As a result, the surrounding area becomes cleaner and healthier to live in.
Challenges
The main challenge of the waste exchange to economic value is the pricing of each waste type per kilogram. Offering it too cheap means people will lose their interest. To create a sense of bigger value, we decided to not give out cash each time, but waste vouchers that could be exchanged at one certain time during the Bazaar.
We created a chart with all products that can be exchanged for the waste vouchers and how many vouchers per product. This system based on points makes it very clear how much value the waste represents.
Community Participation
The biggest waste collectors are the children of the local community of Sawangan. Not only do they collect their rubbish at home, but they also pick up waste around the area when they are playing with their peers, and every time they buy something from the local store, they will now collect the waste they create instead of throwing it away. This aligns with our mission to shape the future by educating children to become zero waste heroes.
So far, 50 people from the local community have collected 780 kg of separated waste and we have distributed 1,313 vouchers, which is equivalent to 131 kg of rice!
Play a ROLE
You can be part of this initiative as well by donating as little as Rp. 10,000 (1 USD) to purchase 1 kg of rice for the community. Click here to donate. For more ways to support or information about our activities, please send an email to rama@rolefoundation.org.
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