Estimating the flow of recyclable items and potential revenue at a waste bank: the case in Malang City, Indonesia

In some Southeast Asian countries, there has been a new approach to waste recycling called “waste banks,” which aims to encourage community members to recycle and develop sustainable waste management. This study investigated the waste banks using Bank Sampah Malang (BSM) in Malang City, Indonesia, as a case study. The aim of this study was to determine the flow of recyclables and which recyclables should be separated by participants of waste banks to effectively earn revenue. The second aim was to estimate the potential revenue from recyclables in the waste bank system. Detailed data, such as weight by recyclable material type, were collected from January 2 to April 4, 2013. There were five groups that participated at BSM, one of which [communities (COM) consisting of a minimum of 20 households] contributed the majority of the recyclables that were submitted to the BSM (72%). In the case of COM, only 14 of the 70 categories, including waste paper, clear polyethylene terephthalate bottles, and polypropylene cups for drinking water, generated 80% of the profit and the other items should be eliminated from the list to avoid overwhelming the participants. This study found that households can earn an average of 322,000 Rp (23.2 USD) per year from waste reclamation. The managers of waste banks can emphasize that this amount is sufficient to by school supplies for children in campaigns promoting BSM.