From zero to green hero through electronic waste
Written by Writer on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008
From zero to green hero through electronic waste
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 11/11/2008 10:49 AM | City
For years, waste and pollution have tainted the Kali Krukut River in Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta. The river is now pitch black, and after each time it rains, it gives off a nauseating odor.
Along the riverbanks, settlers make a living by setting up makeshift canteens and ojek (motorcycle taxi) services.
In a small alley, not far from the riverbanks, a man named Uday runs a shop buying and selling various kinds of recyclable waste, mostly electronic waste (e-waste) from offices in Jakarta.
Nowadays with everyone crazed with being wired all the time, a new problem in e-waste management has emerged.
People often find themselves wondering what to do with their used or broken electronic goods. E-waste, unlike other waste products, contains hazardous chemicals.
Uday’s business, which was established in 2000, offers a low-tech solution in the absence of advanced technology. Individuals or industries in Jakarta that do not have any idea of what to do with their used electronics might find Uday’s business useful.
“I had no job and didn’t finish my education. I never wanted to work for anybody. I started a few small businesses, but that didn’t go very well until I started this waste processing business in 2000,” Uday told The Jakarta Post recently.
In the beginning, the business was a one-man show. He was the business owner, the marketer, the promoter, the inventory manager and the laborer.
“Back then, my only business tool was a stack of name cards. I had no employees. I had to do everything on my own. I went from office to office offering my services to handle their used goods and waste. I gave my name cards to every office employee I met when they had lunch in canteens,” he said.
After receiving the goods, he dismantles and sorts them by their material parts, before reselling them to factories or craftsman.
Eight years later, Uday’s business has grown. He now owns a 15-square-meter warehouse to store inventories, which also serves as his shop. His name is written on the warehouse’s three-meter high front gate. Long gone are the days when he would go door-to-door, dragging a cart to collect goods.
In the warehouse, waste and used goods are separated based on their categories. At the front are the used soft drink cans with a 2-meter-high stack of cardboard. Further inside are the used electronic goods. The CPUs and monitors are in a closet, whereas the hard disks are in a drawer under his work desk.
He now has four employees at his workshop, who are his relatives and friends. In addition, he has a number of loyal customers that do all the marketing for him. By maintaining a good relationship with them, Uday is able to apply a word-of-mouth commissioning system as his marketing method.
“If customers of mine refer my business to a new customer, for every sales they will receive a 5 percent commission,” he said.
But like any other business, his business has also been affected by the current global financial crisis. According to Uday, his monthly gross turnover is down 40-60 percent.
“I buy and sell the waste based on their weight. Now, during crisis, I can only pay as much as Rp 1,400 (U.S. 13 cents) per kilogram. I used to pay Rp 2,000 to Rp 2,400 per kilogram.”
Uday told the Post his small business has an advantage compared to big enterprises.
“Small businesses have a higher resilience in crisis because they mainly use manpower and network channels to run, not loans and credit from banks.”
Not only is he proud of his survival skills, Uday is proud of the importance of his trade. His trade, along with trash picking and other waste management jobs, is often overlooked, he said.
“When I began this business, I never thought of it as a business that could make a difference to environmental preservation. I only saw it as a way to support my family.
“But I finally realized the importance of my business and the role of trash pickers to the environment when I watched on TV about how vital waste management is to Jakarta.
“Without us, who would take care of other people’s waste and garbage? Jakarta could’ve drown in a sea of garbage.”
Uday said he expected his business would provide the means for young people to create high-value products from used goods and waste in more creative ways.
“When you talk about used goods and waste management, the first thing that comes to mind is recycling, but there is so much more that can be done with them.
“I am looking forward to working with people who want to work with used goods and waste in more creative ways so that we can produce high quality, useful products.” (hdt)
