Organic and Inorganic Waste – Waste is the residue of daily activities of humans and or
natural processes that have a solid form. Garbage often refers to residual material that is
unwanted or has no benefit for humans after the end of a domestic activity or process. For
industrial waste, unwanted material is generally referred to as industrial waste.
The Bad Impact of Garbage on the Environment
Dirty environment and waste pollution can have a bad impact both on the environment and on humans.
The negative impact of a dirty environment and waste pollution on the environment itself includes
various things, one of which is water pollution.
Water pollution can occur when waste is dumped into rivers and not in the proper trash bins.
This often occurs in areas that cannot be reached by the waste cleaning team, for example in remote
areas or cities with dense pollution and lack of public awareness. Apart from polluting river
water, garbage and sewage disposal can also impede the process of groundwater and of course this is a bad
thing considering that groundwater is very important for human life.
Apart from contaminating rivers and hindering groundwater processes, waste can also contaminate the soil
and make it unhealthy. It’s the same as burning waste in densely populated areas considering
that burning waste, especially inorganic waste, can damage the environment if done continuously.
If all of these things happen in the Sinaumed’s environment , as a good member of society, of course
Sinaumed’s cannot just blame the local government considering that it is the habits of the people
living in that environment that are likely to be the cause so that the community should be the first to try
to solve the problem. .
Not only does it have a bad impact on the environment, garbage pollution and a dirty environment can also
have a bad impact on the people who live in that environment. For example, garbage pollution is
known to cause an increase in various diseases such as digestive tract infections, respiratory disorders,
and so on.
This is because there is a lot of garbage that has accumulated and is not disposed of in its proper place,
animals that can carry diseases such as flies and rats will become more and more and of course will spread
various viruses and bacteria in the area.
Good waste management is undoubtedly one of the most important keys in efforts to maintain environmental health,
considering that poor waste management will result in a dirty environment and waste pollution which of course
brings various kinds of bad effects to humans and the environment.
Trash Type
Based on its nature, waste can be divided into two types, namely organic waste and inorganic waste.
Organic waste is a type of waste that can be processed while inorganic waste is waste that is not
or is difficult to decompose. The following is more information about organic and inorganic
waste.
1. Organic Waste
Organic waste is a type of waste that comes from living things, both humans, plants and animals.
Generally, this organic waste can still be used if it is managed according to the correct
procedures. So, this waste can have various benefits for life.
Organic waste itself can be divided into two types, namely dry and wet organic waste. Just as
the name suggests, dry organic waste is organic waste that contains little water, while wet organic waste is
organic waste that contains a lot of water.
2. Inorganic waste
Inorganic waste is a type of waste that is difficult to decompose. Unlike organic waste, this
waste generally does not come from living things. Inorganic waste is waste originating from
non-biological materials which also includes synthetic products and the results of technological processes
from the processing of mining materials.
The problem of inorganic waste has not yet found a bright spot. Even though several efforts
have been made, the amount of waste in Indonesia is still very large. Based on data from the
Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) in 2019, the amount of waste was 67.8 million tons, consisting
of 57% organic waste, 15% plastic waste, 11% paper waste, and 17% other waste.
Based on data reported by the Minderoo Foundation, every Indonesian citizen produces inorganic waste, which
is approximately 9 kg of single-use plastic waste. The country of Indonesia is even the country
that disposes of the largest per capita single-use plastic waste in the sixth place in Southeast
Asia.
Difference between Inorganic and Organic Waste
There are four fundamental differences between organic waste and inorganic waste which can be seen from the
source, the content in it, heat resistance, and the reaction it produces.
1. Source
The first difference can be seen from the source of the waste. Organic waste comes from the
remains of living organisms, both humans, plants and animals. While inorganic waste comes from
non-living organisms such as plastic.
2. Content Inside
Organic waste generally contains carbon and hydrogen bonds. Organic waste also has a more
complex composition when compared to annotganic waste. Meanwhile, inorganic waste does not
contain carbon. This waste has non-living matter and contains minerals.
3. Heat Resistance
Organic waste is generally more flammable when exposed to heat. In contrast to inorganic
waste, some of which are more heat resistant, for example iron, glass, and electronic goods which require
high heat to destroy.
4. The resulting reaction
A study revealed that organic waste has a slow reaction rate and does not produce salt. While
inorganic waste has a reaction rate that tends to be faster and can form salts. The salt in
question is not cooking salt, but shaped like granulated salt.
Examples of Organic Waste
1. Food leftovers
This food waste is included in or is included in the class of organic waste because it has properties that can be
recycled again to be used as compost.
2. Human and animal excrement
Animal manure is one of the various organic wastes that has quite good benefits. One of them
is cow dung. Cow dung is an example of organic waste that can be used to produce natural
biogas. Meanwhile, human excrement can also be used as plant fertilizer which has quite high
economic value.
3. Wood
Wood is one among various other organic wastes that some people may consider useless. However,
if wood is in the hands of creative people, it can be used as a work of art or a source of renewable energy
because wood contains cellulose.
4. Foliage
Leaves that have fallen off if certain treatments are not carried out, will naturally become fertilizer for
the surrounding plants. However, leaves can also be used as works of art and compost that can
be traded.
Examples of Inorganic Waste
Inorganic waste can be divided into two types, namely soft waste and hard waste.
1. Soft Trash
Inorganic soft waste as the name suggests is waste that has soft or flexible properties and is easy to
shape. An example is plastic waste, both in the form of bags, styrofoam ,
straws, or fast food wrappers. In addition, there are also types of liquid waste, for
example detergent water, laundry soap waste, cooking oil, and so on.
2. Hard Garbage
In contrast to soft waste, inorganic hard waste has properties that are not easy to destroy because it
contains strong materials. This waste can only be destroyed using certain destruction methods
such as burning or heating.
In addition to the two types of inorganic waste that were mentioned in the previous point, there is also
gas or wind inorganic waste that cannot be touched by humans. This type of waste usually comes
from the chimneys of production factories which are hazardous to health and can cause the earth to get
warmer.
Benefits of Inorganic Waste
Sinaumed’s certainly doesn’t want to live in a dirty environment and is polluted by garbage.
Simple steps that can be taken to avoid this are by reusing inorganic waste at home.
1. Reuse
Plastic or glass bottles can be reused as containers, multipurpose containers, planting media, and plant pots.
Sinaumed’s can change its shape or decorate it to make it look more attractive. So
Sinaumed’s doesn’t need to buy new plant containers or pots.
2. Made as a craft
Plastic bottles, plastic packaging, or paper can be processed to become handicrafts. Packaging
of various products such as coffee, shampoo, body soap, dish soap, and detergent, for example, can be
created into tote bags , bracelets, pencil cases, plastic flowers, wall hanging collages, and
so on.
3. Save costs
Bringing your own drink bottle every time you travel can reduce the urge to buy bottled drinks.
Getting used to reusing items that are still fit for use can also prevent Sinaumed’s from
being consumptive in buying items that are not really important.
Benefits of Organic Waste
Sinaumed’s certainly doesn’t want to live in a dirty and polluted environment. A simple step that
can be taken to avoid this is to reuse organic waste around the residence.
1. Organic Waste For Compost/Organic Fertilizer
Organic waste is a type of waste that can be recycled. Organic waste such as rotten fruit and
vegetables can be used as a useful thing, one of which is compost. In fact, processing organic
waste to be used as compost is not difficult.
2. Animal Feed Supplement
Organic waste can also be used as additional feed for livestock. Not only can it be used as
additional feed for goats, cows and chickens, organic waste can also be processed into pellets for fish
food.
3. Biogas and Electricity
Organic waste is a type of waste that can also be used as a source of electricity. This can be
done by using organic waste from animal waste, human waste, tempeh waste, and tofu waste to be used as the
main ingredient of biogas.
Inorganic Waste Treatment
Inorganic waste management in particular can be done by implementing the 3R system ( reuse ,
reduce , and recycle ). Reuse means to reuse inorganic waste that still
has other functions. Reduce means reducing the use of disposable items.
Meanwhile, recycle has the meaning of recycling inorganic waste into
various objects that have more benefits and have new values.
In addition, based on the explanation in Formative Journal 4 (2), there are several steps that can be carried out
in managing inorganic waste.
1. Preventing and Reducing Waste at the Source
Preventing and reducing waste at its source can be accomplished by sorting or separating organic and
inorganic waste. Separation can be done by providing special bins for each different type of
waste.
2. Reuse
The next way to process inorganic waste is to reuse the product. For example by using recycled
paper or making various crafts whose basic ingredients are plastic waste.
3. Garbage Banks
The waste bank is one of the government’s efforts to reduce the pile of inorganic waste. Based
on the 3R principle, the presence of a waste bank can provide an opportunity to save and maintain a clean
environment from the adverse effects of inorganic waste. In general, the waste bank system in
Indonesia is divided into three stages, namely waste selection, sorting, and waste sales.
1. Sorting
At this stage waste can be separated into two categories, namely organic and inorganic. For
inorganic types, waste is sorted again into several types, namely paper, bottles, plastic, and metal.
Organic waste is processed to be used as compost, while non-organic waste will be deposited into
the waste bank.
2. Sorting
After the inorganic waste has been collected, all of the waste is immediately deposited into the nearest waste
bank which will later be categorized as a deposit or a kind of money that will be deposited into a conventional
bank.
3. Sales
Garbage will be weighed at the bank and converted into money into the waste bank account. If
Sinaumed’s is a new customer, the officer will ask Sinaumed’s to create an account.
Keep in mind, the price of waste in each waste bank can vary depending on the provisions of
each waste bank.