Bin for rice: Bali’s recycling program gives families a lifeline in a pandemic
Silver artisan I Wayan Adi Semara Putra, 34, collects plastic waste in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia on December 22, 2021. Photo taken on December 22, 2021 REUTERS
GIANYAR, Indonesia – For Balinese souvenir shop owner I Kadek Rai Nama Rupat, the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic have been a struggle for survival.
The pandemic has kept foreign tourists who typically flock to businesses like his on the Indonesian resort island from coming, and rising food prices have compounded the economic pain.
But a local nonprofit group offers help by swapping rice for plastic waste which is then sold to a recycling company.
“Every plastic waste is very valuable to villagers today and to our economy,” said Rupat, who traded about four kg (9.5 pounds) of plastic for one kg of rice.
Rice costs around 15,000 to 20,000 rupees ($ 1.05 to $ 1.40) per kg and locals estimate that a family of four consumes about two kg per day of the staple food, so the exchange worth it.
The Bali Plastic Exchange was founded in May last year by I Made Janur Yasa, who, like many Balinese, has seen its main business running a vegan restaurant hit hard by the pandemic.
The 55-year-old said the driving force behind his project was the desire to feed communities in his native Bali province and improve the environment.
Indonesia is the world’s second largest contributor of plastic pollutants to the oceans, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Science.
There is no limit to the amount of plastic waste a person can bring, although organizers are encouraging people to pick up litter from their own neighborhood.
After spreading through word of mouth, the initiative has helped support around 40,000 families in 200 villages, while recycling nearly 600 tonnes (544 tonnes) of plastic waste, Yasa said.
“This program has been very well received by members of the community,” said Yasa, who hopes to expand it to other provinces in Indonesia.
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