Small Islands’ Pledge to Reduce Plastic Waste

KOMPAS/ICHWAN SUSANTO

Students at SD 1 Kulati Elementary School in Tomia, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, Monday (1/28/2019), take part in a session about garbage. Local students are taught to reduce the use of plastic and put garbage in the trash. This is to reduce the danger of plastic waste from going into the sea.

Plastic waste is a problem not just for cities. In the small Tomia island in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, far away from Indonesia’s urban centers, locals are putting up a fight against plastic waste.

Located at the world’s coral triangle, Tomia island relies on its undersea panoramic vista to attract tourists. However, plastic waste, a lack of sanitation and waste processing facilities and the prevalence of littering, is threatening the island that was recently included in the government’s list of “10 New Balis”. Since October last year, SD 1 Kulati state elementary school in Tomia has included waste management in its local content class to better inform students on how to process waste properly.

Students are taught about the local environment, which includes unique coastal neighborhoods, seagrass ecosystems and coastal ecosystems.

On Monday (28/1/2019), the local content lesson was delivered by fifth-grade teacher Taharuddin, who was accompanied by sixth-grade teacher Asmiati. A banner bearing the picture of a home, a garden, trees and the open sea -- a familiar view for the students -- was put up on the whiteboard.

Then, the teacher, who hailed from Bombana, asked his students to put up various pictures of fish, crabs, shrimps, clams and birds in their respective habitats. Despite being unsure at first, when 11-year-old Dewi walked to the front of the classroom, her friends followed. The students soon got excited.

The stickers of various animals were placed in their proper habitats. No one got it wrong. Mackerel and skipjack tunas were placed near the surface of the sea. Grouper and other coral fishes were placed near the corals.

Afterward, Taharuddin asked the students to place stickers of waste materials, such as used tires, used clothes, empty water or engine oil bottles and plastic bags. Students placed the trash on the pictures of home, garden or sea. This showed that they could find the materials both on land and sea.

Taharuddin then said that waste, if not managed properly, could end up in the sea, where they can endanger animals living on corals, water columns and the deep sea.

The death of a sperm whale with a belly full of plastic waste in Wangi-wangi waters in Wakatobi in November last year highlights the threat of plastic waste to marine life.

“If we have no fish, we can no longer eat fish? Do you want that?” Taharuddin asked, to which the children responded, “No!”

Then, Taharuddin advised the students to never litter. He asked the students to reduce plastic use and inform their family members at home on the dangers of plastic waste for marine ecosystems.

“If you buy snacks, don’t use one plastic bag for each item. You should get them all in one bag. You can also carry your own plastic bag,” he said.

At the end of the lesson, he led the students to pledge to never litter and to reduce plastics use. “If you violate this pledge, I will be punished,” they said at the end of the pledge.

Local content

Apart from in the classrooms, local content is also presented in outdoor activities. This may include games to increase students’ cognitive abilities and lessons with local contents. One example is a contest of citing names of fish, both in Indonesian language and in the local tongue.

KOMPAS/ICHWAN SUSANTO

Games and local content – A teacher of SD 1 Kulati state elementary school in Tomia Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, Taharuddin, leads an outdoor game with his students on Monday (28/1/2019). The game is part of the local content, including garbage processing, of the lessons given to the students.

SD Kulati principal La Ode Marwan said he welcomed the local content class that was organized in collaboration between The Nature Conservancy and the Kahedupa Toudani Forum (Forkani). “The study materials are attractive for the students,” La Ode said.

The local content lesson is suitable for the students as Kulati is a tourism village in Tomia. “If our home is dirty, who will want to come here,” La Ode said.

Taharuddin said the lesson on waste complemented a marine life lesson, which has been provided to students for quite some time. The lesson on waste has dramatically changed students’ behavior. They have begun to report their friends to their teachers for littering.

Sixth-grader Sartika said that the lesson helped raise her awareness on the effects of waste on marine environments. “If my friends are littering, I tell them not to do it. If they refuse to comply, I just pick the litter myself and throw it into the trash bin,” she said.

Old habits die hard. At least, the children in Kulati, Tomia, Wakatobi, are beginning to do their share.