Unilever Indonesia and Perkumpulan Persada: Green and Clean – Providing a Clean and Healthy Environment through Community Participation, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Unilever Indonesia Foundation (YUI) as the corporate social responsibility division of PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk (UI), together with Perkumpulan Persada (Persada), an NGO that trains communications professionals, implemented a program called Yogyakarta Green and Clean (DIYGC) from January to December 2011 in four districts—Bantul, Gunungkidul, Kulon Progo, Sleman—and the capital city of Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. DIYGC aimed at mobilizing community participation in reducing the volume of household waste and building a clean and healthy environment. The main activities of DIYGC were based on the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling waste through sorting, making compost, and converting waste into reusable material, as well as focusing on educating the community in collecting and selling the waste to collectors. 

By December 2011, the partnership between YUI and Persada had successfully covered 452 of 614 hamlets (74%) in 68 sub districts of Yogyakarta Province. Each hamlet includes approximately 400 households. The partners trained 452 community members as field facilitators and recruited more than 5,000 volunteers for DIYGC. In addition, Kedaulatan Rakyat received a “Walikota [Mayor’s] Award” in 2011 as a media agency that actively supports environmental conservation in Yogyakarta Province. The communities in the district of Sleman and the city of Yogyakarta managed to reduce the volume of inorganic waste by 11-12%. Following the success of this program, the five district governments provided their communities with 1,733 home compost barrels, 436 trash bins, 147 biopore tools, 69 wheelbarrows to transport waste, 11 waste chopper/shredder machines, 6 motorcycles to haul trash, and 600 packages of vegetable and tree seeds. 

The provincial government of Yogyakarta has continued the DIYGC program by establishing an integrated waste management in the province. YUI and Persada have begun to implement a Waste Bank program that will eventually extend throughout the area covered by the partnership, which will improve the environment and have a positive economic impact on the community. Communities can deposit recycled materials in a Waste Bank and receive a monetary reward.