Garbage: A serious problem that we often take it for granted

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I have no doubt on people awareness that poor rubbish treatment results in serious problems like flood, pollution, and many others. What I really wonder is when I realize that somehow Indonesian people seem to take it for granted. I am not boasting when I state this. People realize that annual flood disaster in big cities is, apart from many causes, impacted by the poor rubbish treatment. However, bad habit like disposing rubbish to improper place, such as river, lake or everywhere seems still hard to beat.

Leading people to have good habit of treating rubbish properly will likely be a long-term project, as it has something to do with changing mind of millions which is obviously not easy. Education is a critical thing which can bring hope when it comes to fostering good habit. Talking about getting people to have positive attitude toward rubbish, Japan is one of countries that we can look upon. Those who have once have traveled to Japan surely agree that Japan is the brand of cleanliness. People might ask, what is behind this cleanliness. Are Japanese born with loving-environment DNA, or is there any particular human effort which lead to this condition?

I found the answer when I visited many schools of both Elementary and Secondary. Awareness of the importance of treating environment properly is manifested in the practice of education at school. In playgroup, kids are already accustomed with activities which enhance their awareness to maintain clean environment. With their teachers, kids do some sweeping and mobbing the floor, watering the garden or park, cleaning toilets, or the least thing, making up their playing ground after finished using it. Such habit remains exist and even go better and better along with their growth till adults. Efforts of building such positive character is instilled in school activities.

If we have time to see how daily life of Japanese family looks like, we will also find that parents are mostly strict to their children about the necessity of setting the environment clean. Children are willy-nilly to help themselves clean everything at home, as having servant or helper in Japanese family is not common.

The government also take their fabulous part in establishing environment-loving society. They make a regulation that everybody have to treat waste properly. Waste management is introduced to people so well that they subconsciously understand about how to treat rubbish properly. In many corners of Japan, we will find some kinds of trash with various category. Japanese do not need any stern warning to make them dispose organic, inorganic, plastic, and recyclable rubbish in the right place. Another important thing is the waste treatment after being taken from those trashes. Japanese government install some rubbish-treating factories, where certain kinds of rubbish are treated.

I am thinking of how if Indonesian Government simply copy the action that Japanese have so far taken. It will take time for sure, yet achieving the same condition as the one Japanese have is not impossible.