Pantura’s "Garbage Queen"

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

Nurlaelatul Aqifah

Recycling is a way of life for 46-year-old Nurlaelatul “Nur” Aqifah, whose love of reusing and repurposing waste led her to decorate her child’s wedding with items made from recycled plastic. She is also encouraging villagers in Tegal to maintain the rural beauty of the northern Javanese coast by recycling waste into useful items.

Nurlaelatul’s house was abuzz with activity on Thursday in Kraton village of West Tegal subdistrict, Tegal, Central Java. It is a simple house, but the furniture is unique.

The porch chairs and table are made of ecobricks – plastic bottles filled with plastic waste. In front, plants grow in repurposed plastic bottles.

That morning, Nur had received about 50 visitors from Blora regency, who had traveled six hours to learn how to recycle waste from her.

Nur has freely set aside her time, energy and thoughts in her efforts to raise awareness about reducing the amount of waste that ends up at a landfill.

"Managing waste is certainly not easy. It takes commitment and consistency to ensure that waste management is sustainable," she said, who was a dressmaker before she turned to waste management.

In 2014, I and a few neighbors formed a plastic waste management group. This group dissolved because not everyone could stand being in the garbage business.

She was already making patchwork out of old fabrics in 2012. One day, her neighborhood in Keraton village was flooded, partly because the drainage system was clogged with garbage. Concerned, Nur became determined to manage local waste so that it would not flood again.

She started focusing on managing plastic waste in 2014. "In 2014, I and a few neighbors formed a plastic waste management group. This group dissolved because not everyone could stand being in the garbage business," she said.

Nur taught herself to make products from plastic waste, and makes a variety of products that have economic value. Even though the group she helped establish was disbanded, Nur continued to make and sell products made from recycled plastic.

She makes bags, shoes, hats, cellphone cases, small pouches and pencil cases. She also makes photo frames from newspaper, as well as tissue boxes, water bottles and dresses, all made from recycled waste. Nur sells her products domestically, as well as in Malaysia.

KOMPAS/KRISTI DWI UTAMI

Nurlaelatul Aqifah

Waste bank

In 2016, the Tegal municipal environment agency appealed to the public to set up local waste banks. Nur welcomed the news with enthusiasm. She started a waste bank called Mawar Biru (blue rose), an acronym derived from the Javanese terms mangan (eat), wareg (full), bisa (be able) and turu (sleep)

Nur\'s efforts to start Mawar Biru met with difficulty. In the beginning, local residents ridiculed her. She told the residents that that waste should first be sorted before disposal. "Those that have economic value can be sold to trash pickers and give whatever that cannot be sold to me," Nur said.

At first, not many people wanted to become a member of the waste bank, because they made frequent losses. Nur and the members often spent their own money to make the payments to residents or to provide food and drink during awareness events.

Mawar Biru initially only received garbage from local residents and sold them to collectors. Gradually they felt that their earnings did not match the energy and time they spent sorting the trash.

"So I thought of making a waste bank that could manage waste and make products with economic value," said the mother of four. She gradually taught all members of the waste bank how to recycle waste into salable items. She was patient in sharing her knowledge with the Mawar Biru members.

However, the waste deposits at Mawar Biru diminished, partly because residents preferred to sell their waste to trash pickers. Nur realized that waste recycling required the involvement of many people. So she formed a waste management network called Runtah Tegal Laka-laka (Rutela) in 2017. Runtah means “trash” in the Javanese dialect spoken in Tegal. Rutela offered a platform for people who managed waste as a "way of life" to come together.

Rutela’s members could also expand their marketing network by attending product exhibitions and waste drives.

Nur\'s family is fully behind her passion for waste recycling and management. Her son does not mind seeing half their house filled with garbage, since Nur taught her family about the importance of managing waste from the outset.

Today, her children have started following Nur\'s footsteps in waste management, and some have been invited to conduct out-of-town waste awareness campaigns.

Nurlaelatul Aqifah

Born: Tegal, 8 Dec. 1974

Husband: Surguntoro (51)

Children: Adibatul Latifah (23), Kharisatul F. (21), Faiz A.R. (17), Umar A.B. (8)

Education: SMKK Tegal state vocational high school

Achievements:

- Environmental Pioneer, Servant and Rescuer of Central Java, Kalpataru Award (2019)

- Tegal City Community Care for the Environment, from the Tegal mayor (2018)

- First place, Central Java Creativity and Innovation Competition (2018)

- Exemplary Environmental Management in Recycling Waste, Tegal municipality (2017)

Occupation: Director, Mawar Biru Waste Bank, Kraton village, Tegal