JOGJA (KU) – Waste is smelly and disgusting, especially that comes from organic materials. For Mujiono (34), waste can bring plenty of benefits. With hard work, rice and fruit waste from the Humaniora Mandiri Canteen in the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, and the Food Court at the UGM Student Hall is processed into compost.
His experience in waste management in Sukunan hamlet, Banyuraden sub-district, Gamping, Sleman regency, has made Mujiono skillful. "The waste at UGM, is clearly different. Here, people might get disgusted because there is much rice waste and water. They decay quickly, but for me it is a normal thing,” said the man born in Sleman, 17 August 1976. The father of two children said that the watery waste is hard to decompose. "Due to the watery nature, it should be mixed with dry waste, otherwise, it cannot decompose," said the man who only passed junior high school.
Routine Waste Collection
Each mornng, Mujiono comes to those canteens to collect garbage. The waste is contained in a drum located at the Sanitation Unit office of UGM. From the Humaniora canteen, at least 20 kilos of waste is collected everyday while from the Food Court there is only 1-2 kilo.
At UGM, Mujiono makes use of 8 composting drums for organic fermentation process. In three months, only 11 drums are filled with organic waste. It takes 25 days for the fermentation in each drum. "Only the waste in the upper part of the drum can be used, the lower part contains water. The waste in the lower part will be moved to the upper part of a new drum," he explained.
Mujiono said that the amount of compost produced of waste management is not much. Up to now, there are only two sacks stored in the backyard of his office. Mujiono lets the matter up to UGM for compost utilization. He suggested that it be used to fertilize plants at UGM.
What he has done can be made a good example. It is a pity, however, organic waste management is done by himself. None other wants to follow suit. Nevertheless, Mujiono does not give up, because for him, managing waste into something useful is a campaign to sustain the environment. "I would actually want to share my experience with others. But I think people are ashamed to do this task,” said Mujiono who is paid a honorarium amounting to Rp300,000 a month from UGM for his work.