Waste Management
Introduction
Bank Sampah Gili Indah is Gili Trawangan’s first recycling station. Established by the FMPL & Gili Eco Trust, this is where all the recyclable materials end up. This can include materials such as plastic bottles, cans, glass bottles and Tetrapak cartons. We process them, crush bottles and cartons into huge blocks and ship it to a recycling station in Lombok. The FMPL transport between 10-15 tonnes of recyclable waste off Gili T every fortnight.
Gili Eco Trust aims to sort the rubbish of the entire island and maximise the amount that can be recycled whilst limiting trash that gets sent to the dump. Eventually, we will become a zero-waste-to-landfill island! But we have a few more steps to go.
In 2017, the government started to build a new structure next to the island dump, the TPST (Tempat Pengolahan Sampah Terpadu). This will eventually become an integrated waste management headquarters. Dealing with all types of waste where it can be processed, crushed, repurposed and composted. We are looking to work in partnership with a company pioneering in pyrolysis machines to be able to turn unrecyclable (residual) waste back into oil, which we can then continue to power the island on.
When the FMPL are granted access to managing these new headquarters, we will be able to move our equipment from temporary shelters over the island into one central location, conveniently right beside the dump. This will open up more employment opportunities for the local population and increase the efficiency of trash processing on our tiny island.
FMPL
FMPL Stands for Front Masyarakat Peduli Lingkungan (Community front for environmental care). They work closely in partnership with the Gili Eco Trust in the waste collection logistics. First established in 1999 the Gili Eco Trust started working with them in 2007 through animal welfare for the rubbish ponies, then in 2008/9 to make plan for the dump and build a wall around, an incinerator and an access road. in 2010/11, GET organise a big fundraising with all stakeholders and donations from abroad to change the waste management with selected coloured bins for each type of rubbish.
In 2014/15, The GET spent time, efforts and money into making the waste management system better, working even closer to FMPL to organise waste pick ups, recycling and up cycling. The Gili Eco Trust spent time with the staff and the horses, teaching them how to take care of them, and get the horses back to a better health. Then worked on new routes and ways to optimize waste pick ups by encouraging selection of waste materials that could be sold for an income.
New Waste Management System
From Waste Collection to a Circular Island
Waste management has been one of Gili Eco Trust’s biggest challenges—and one of our longest-running projects.
For more than 20 years, we have worked with the local community to improve waste collection, recycling, composting, upcycling and environmental education on Gili Trawangan. Along the way, we have learned that simply collecting rubbish is not enough.
A sustainable waste system starts with the person who produces the waste.
Our long-term vision is to create a system where waste is separated at source, valuable materials are recovered, organic waste is composted, recyclable materials are recycled or upcycled, and only a minimum amount of residual waste requires final treatment.
The TPST – Our Waste Management Hub
When the TPST (Tempat Pengolahan Sampah Terpadu), or integrated waste sorting centre, was completed in December 2019, we saw an opportunity to finally develop the system we had been working towards for many years.
Our plan is for the TPST to become the heart of an efficient circular waste economy on Gili Trawangan—a system that can operate sustainably, create local employment and progressively allow FMPL, our local waste management partner, to become more financially and operationally independent.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought tourism to a standstill and meant that we were unable to invest the funds needed to develop the facility. However, it also led us to build new international partnerships.
One of these partnerships was with The SeaCleaners, whose support has helped us move forward with the development and improvement of the sorting centre.
Due to the necessary administrative and regulatory processes, physical modifications to the TPST were finally able to begin in October 2023.
Building the System
The transformation of the TPST is an ongoing process. We are developing the infrastructure, equipment and operational systems needed to handle Gili Trawangan’s waste more efficiently, while also increasing the number of people working within the system.
But infrastructure alone cannot solve the island’s waste problem.
The system only works if everyone participates.
Our goal is to bring residents, businesses and visitors into the process so that everyone understands where their waste goes and takes responsibility for what they produce.
Separation at Source
The first and most important step is sorting waste before it is collected.
We are working towards a system where waste is separated into:
ORGANIC + INORGANIC
Within the inorganic stream, materials such as glass, recyclable plastics and other recoverable materials can then be further sorted for recycling or upcycling.
Organic waste can be diverted towards composting, while the remaining residual waste can be managed separately.
If waste is not correctly separated, FMPL will not collect it.
This is not intended as a punishment. It is necessary for the system to work. Once different types of waste are mixed together, valuable materials become contaminated and much harder—or impossible—to recover.
Education, Communication & Accountability
Changing behaviour doesn’t happen overnight. It requires constant education, communication and repetition.
Through contracts, community information, social media and our dedicated WhatsApp waste-management group, we will continue to:
• Explain how and why to separate waste.
• Provide clear information about collection requirements.
• Share updates and practical solutions.
• Recognise businesses and residents who are doing things well.
• Encourage accountability when waste is repeatedly not separated correctly.
• Continue educating the community—because environmental education only works when the message is repeated.
• Help everyone understand the true journey of the waste they produce.
We want people to see the connection between what they throw away and what happens to their island afterwards.
Our Goal: A Circular Gili
Our ultimate ambition is to move towards a Zero Waste to Landfill approach for Gili Trawangan.
That means treating waste as a resource wherever possible:
Reduce → Reuse → Separate → Recycle → Compost → Upcycle → Recover
The less waste we produce, and the more we recover from what remains, the less pressure we place on the island’s land, oceans and ecosystems.
This is a huge challenge—but after more than two decades of experience, we know what doesn’t work, we have learned what does, and we are finally building the infrastructure and partnerships needed to turn our long-term vision into reality.
The future of Gili’s waste starts with every one of us.
Separate your waste. Reduce what you consume. Take responsibility for what you produce.
There is no “away” on a small island. 🌱
Glass Upcycling
The Gili Eco Shop is a showroom of unique and hand cut upcycled glass products, all hand-selected from the glass bottles consumed on the island.
Bintang bottles can be sent back to the producers to be refilled. Yes, that’s right, if you want a truly zero-waste beverage in the Gili Islands, stick with Bintang! We can recycle the bottle caps and collect a donation when we send the bottles back to the Bintang factory.
But unfortunately, that doesn’t count for the other glass bottles. We collect these from the dump, or bars on the beach and make drinking glasses, ashtrays, lamps, earrings and other jewellery cut from bottles !
Local businesses can order a big batch of these sustainable products and we can personalise them with their logo or name etched in the glass, all done in our glass workshop directly on Gili Trawangan. A greener option for businesses to have professional and personal engraved products in their establishments, or for tourists to shop for cool gifts created on Gili Trawangan.
Proceeds of the Gili Glass campaign go directly back into the recycling projects, and people buying them are helping us to keep the island clean!
Save our Paradise
Gili Trawangan
