Overcome School Lunch Waste, BSF Maggot Method Begins to Be Applied to Compost Wet Organic Waste
YOGYAKARTA - The method of processing organic waste integrated by utilizing Black Soldier Fly (BSF) or maggot has begun to be applied on a mass scale to decompose food waste in institutional environments. This biological approach is used to reduce the volume of wet waste, which has been a major problem in environmental pollution in communities.
Head of the Sustainable Infrastructure Subdirectorate, Ferriawan Yudhanto, stated that wet organic waste sourced from canteens and business units has characteristics that are difficult to manage, so it requires special handling.
"Wet organic waste is the most difficult type of waste to manage. Therefore, we developed processing using BSF maggots. Later, all food waste from canteens and various business units in the campus environment will be processed into maggot feed," said Ferriawan in Yogyakarta, quoted from ANTARA, Thursday, June 18.
Ferriawan explained that the power of maggot BSF can significantly reduce the volume of food waste in a short time. This scheme changes the conventional handling pattern which places garbage as a burden, into a productive resource with ecological value.
In addition to wet waste, the management of dry waste such as leaves and plant pruning residues is also carried out in parallel by turning it into compost fertilizer. The fertilizer is allocated again for the maintenance of vegetation in the area.
"Sorting must start with ourselves. By separating wet and dry organic waste from the source, we can handle each characteristic of waste according to the appropriate processing method. Leaf waste is processed into compost, while food waste is managed through BSF maggots," he said.
This waste management system is now being used as a pilot model by institutions outside the region, one of which is the Miftahul Anwar Dampasan Islamic Boarding School from Ciamis, West Java, which conducted a study visit to learn the processing techniques.
The implementation of this method is expected to become a prototype for other educational institutions and the wider community in managing domestic waste independently from upstream.
"We want to show that universities have a role as agents of change. What we apply on campus does not stop here, but can be adapted by the community to create a cleaner and more sustainable environment," said Ferriawan.
As a supporting step for comprehensive emission reduction, policies to restrict the use of disposable plastic in the canteen area, the installation of solar energy panels, to the plan for the operation of electric shuttle buses are also beginning to be integrated into this environmentally friendly area program.