A developing community of “recyclers” as seen through the eyes of one of its most valued employees – 10-year old Didi.
Detailed Synopsis
In response to a growing population, and therefore a growing amount of solid waste which it did not have the financial or land resources to manage, Bandung, Indonesia has developed, along with non-governmental organization working in the city, the concept of a “module” of people who work to separate recyclables from the city’s waste stream, thereby providing a low-cost alternative to the landfill model of waste management services. The goal of the BIRRS program is to manage the large amount of previously unmanageable waste through the development of an indigenous waste management approach, which is low-cost, provides employment for the urban poor, and defers the cost of waste disposal through the sale of materials which were previously unavailable for recycling.
The T P A community functions on several different levels but can be best described as a two tier system: The existing villagers which are essentially middle management vs. the “scavengers” that is, poor residents of the squatter’s settlements who make their living by collecting recoverable and recyclable materials from the waste stream. Didi seamlessly transverses both groups, working as a recycler alongside the “scavengers” but living in the surrounding village with his single parent mother. Didi is the man of the house.
