Depok, 28 February 2024 – The increasing population in Indonesia has an inevitable consequence, i.e., higher food waste generation, especially from the household sector. The National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry reports that Indonesia generated 18 million tons of waste throughout 2023, with organic food waste contributing 41.7%. This composition of organic waste can produce methane gas, hence contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that trigger climate change. Moreover, decaying organic waste in landfills also poses health and hygiene issues.
Solution-based and creative efforts are needed to address the organic waste challenge. As a response, PT Garudafood Putra Putri Jaya Tbk (Garudafood), in collaboration with PT Biomagg Sinergi Internasional (Biomagg), has engaged the community of Jatijajar Sub-District, Depok, in a Household Organic Waste Management Program through the Bioconversion Method with BSF Maggots. The program kick-off took place on Wednesday (2/28/2024) at the Jatijajar Sub-District office in Depok, West Java, attended by Dian Astriana (Corporate Communication & External Relations Manager of Garudafood), Aminudi (CEO of Biomagg), the Head of the Jatijajar Sub-District, and dozens of community members from Jatijajar Sub-District, Depok City, West Java.
Biomagg conducted an educational session on the lifecycle of maggots, maggot cultivation, and the advantages of using maggots to optimize household organic waste management for the attendees. Maggots do not carry pathogens and do not have teeth; they do not transmit diseases. Maggots feed on kitchen scraps, market waste such as vegetables and fruits, and industrial waste. According to Biomagg, 10,000 maggots can decompose 1 kg of organic waste per day. Therefore, through maggot cultivation, residents are expected to be able to optimize the management of organic waste using the bioconversion method, build food security, create new job opportunities, and most importantly, encourage environmental awareness within the community.
This initiative has garnered full support from the Depok Regional Government; the attending residents received a Biobox unit for maggot cultivation, maggot starters, and intensive mentoring for three months by Biomagg and Garudafood. The program aims to process 27 tons of organic waste within three months to prevent the release of 3.51 tons of Methane (CH4) and 86.22 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
A similar program has been conducted by Garudafood since 2021 under the Pati Business Unit (BU), specifically in Sukobubuk Village, Pati - Central Java, in collaboration with the local youth organization (Karang Taruna). This program, known as the Maggot Entrepreneurial Village Program, has successfully processed over 30 tons of organic waste and produced more than 10 tons of fresh maggots, over 12 kg of maggot eggs, Kasgot fertilizer, and over 700 free-range chickens as a derivative commodity. The Karang Taruna of Sukobubuk Village fully manages the sales revenue.
The Maggot Entrepreneur Village Program serves as a Garudafood CSR initiative under the environmental sustainability and community empowerment pillar. Through this program, community members are expected to become increasingly aware of environmental issues, consistently adopting a zero-waste lifestyle in their daily lives and supporting the economic productivity of the surrounding community. The revenue from selling processed organic waste can fund the ongoing operational expenses of upstream waste management and provide incentives from cultivating fish and chickens using maggots as organic feed, consequently reducing feed costs by 40-60%.
At the beginning of 2024, the Garudafood Sehati team also collaborated with PT Sinarniaga Sejahtera (SNS) to partner with Biomagg in the transportation and management of Bad Stock (BS) products from Bogor 1 and Bogor 2 Depo using maggot bioconversion. On the other hand, the waste packaging from the products is responsibly processed by other external partners. In January 2024 alone, approximately 1,342 kg of organic waste was processed, thereby preventing the release of 0.17 tons of Methane and 4.29 tons of Carbon Dioxide emissions.