Good riddance to rubbish helps save climate

Deutsche Welle, Germany, 21 February 2012, Stinking garbage heaps emit large amounts of methane gas, a pollutant far more harmful to the climate than CO2. Indonesia has come up with innovative ways of disposing of trash – benefiting both people and the climate. On the outskirts of the Indonesian city of Tangerang, a waste processing facility plays an important role for the communities in the region. Since 2010, the plant has helped clean up the local roads and streets and provided jobs for many. Trash enters the facility, where it is collected, sorted and processed, either to be recycled or composted. Every day, up to 15 motorcycles make rounds in the city of Tangerang, picking up some 400 kilograms of trash a day.  Employees at the facility sort the trash by hand, carefully separating paper, glass, plastics and organic waste from each other. Anything that can be recycled is sent back to be processed and reused. Some people use the recyclable materials to fashion useful items, creating wallets out of old plastic bags or juice cartons. Organic waste such as fruit peels or leftover vegetables and grains are composted and sold as fertilizer. The long list of buyers includes tree nurseries and gardeners eager to access organic, sustainable fertilizer for their work. In the end, only a third of the trash collected can be neither recycled nor composted, and that ends up back on the landfill.