Zero Waste Gili: Transforming Island Trash

Dear donators,

We are so thankful that you have given us some funds to carry on our waste management projects. We have been very busy since October 2023 when we could finally start modifying the government sorting center into a useful and efficient place to sort, pack, recycle and upcycle.

We did so much and we are still moving towards setting up everything for our dream plan:

We:

• opened some panels to make bigger entry and exit,
• moved the conveyors and press machines to one Recycling Area
• made some super light container with wheels,
• moved the glass crushing machines into one closed area where the glass art workshop was built too,
• bought all the machines, cutting blades and polishing sponges for the glass art workshop,
• moved all the organic shredders and machines into one area close to the entry of all waste,
• continuously asked for help with heavy machinery such as an excavator from the government (we have been asking for 8 years and we still ask)

Many progress that slow down during Ramadan but we are still moving forward and we started receiving more help and donations from Instagram people who saw our successful reel presenting the dark side of Gili T and our up-cycling projects with glass bottles. THANK YOU. We are very grateful and it gave us a bit more motivation to continue.

Although every day the rubbish dump doesn’t seem to go down as FMPL crew collect up to 15 tons of rubbish per day, we are not ready to give up and your messages, comments and donations are what give us more strength and energy.

In May, we will start producing our glass ware and more construction bricks are getting made as I write this report! Reducing the amount of waste staying on the island is our goal and as we progress with buildings, modifications, getting more employees, preparing educational posters, videos and animations, we can visualize our dream plan coming up this year.

This dream plan will only work if we have all the factors ready in the sorting center (buildings, areas of work, employees, machines...) and if everyone understands that they have to do their contributions for the system to run sustainably. When the sorting center will be ready, our idea is to invite everybody (not only owners and managers) to realize the size of the rubbish dump, to visit our sorting center to understand our plans with rubbish and sign a contract in which we stipulate that we will only collected sorted waste (organic and inorganic).

To avoid administrative nightmare, we will not sanction people for not sorting their waste, we will not pick it up! A WhatsApp group will be created in which we can reward and shame but also share our educational flyers, videos, animations and more…

Here is our dream plan for which we have been working so hard, we are not ready to set it up yet as not every factor of it are in place.

We still need help for:

• an excavator
• an organic composting area
• more employees
• a concrete platform outside the sorting center for the coming waste

If you have any questions, suggestions, comments or ideas, please get in touch with us.

Again a big thank you from the bottom of our heart for your donation. Please share our story of struggles in trying to make Gili Trawangan an eco-example with efficient waste management system.

Best wishes

Links:

• Gili Eco Trust website
• Latest news on Instagram