Community-run waste systems

for Indonesia’s remote islands.

We help villages set up waste banks, school programs, and collection routes—keeping nature clean and daily life healthier since 2014.

Sponsors & Certifications

  • https://bintari.or.id/en/

    ANBI

  • https://www.idn-lc.nl/

    CBF

  • https://idn-nl.nl/

    Donateurs Belangen

  • https://internationalwasteplatform.org/indonesian-wast-platform/

    Wilde Ganzen

  • https://triplebenefit.nl/

    Goede Doelen Nederland

  • https://www.happygreenworld.org/

    Stichting Doelman's Hoeve

We connect remote communities in Indonesia,
with sustainable waste management solutions.

Since 2014, we have been working with residents, students, and international partners to create a cleaner and healthier living environment starting with the Maluku islands. With respect for traditions, and with the power of data and technology, we are building step by step towards a network of circular islands – from local to global.

What works in Indonesia, we share worldwide. Together, we make small islands, big.

Impact

Litter

Since 2014 we’ve tackled waste on small islands like Saparua. A Bank Sampah opened in Ouw (2023) and Mahu (Mar 2025)—logistics are now taking shape. From Apr 2025, a two-year program funded by UK Ocean with Bintari, Toma Majo Lease, and The Clean Planet Project scales village sorting, collection, and recycling.

Education

Environmental education isn’t yet standard in Indonesia. We promote Adiwiyata (Green Schools) and provide free, ready-to-use materials so teachers and students can turn care for place into daily habits—on school grounds and beyond.

Paparisa

Paparisa TML is our home base in Haria: workshops, eco-library, sports & games, and a play-o-theek—often free when you bring plastic waste. A Bintari field team operates here, making Paparisa the coordination hub for the island waste project and a step toward local ownership.

Adat

Adat—customary law—anchors community life but is fading. We champion solutions that respect and revive local wisdom, aligning modern practice with tradition so change fits daily life and lasts.

Research

We bridge Saparua with students from Ambon and the Netherlands. Since 2016 we’ve studied the island waste stream and turned findings into practical, island-fit solutions. Results are open and shared on our website.

Online

Films, talks, and digital books are available online for students, interns, and volunteers. We host webinars and accept blog contributions, so you can support the Moluccas—and learn—wherever you are.

We design and scale community-run solutions to stop waste at the source.

We help remote communities set up the simple systems they can run themselves—waste banks, Green Schools, and collection routes—lifting daily life while keeping nature clean.

Partner with Us

When waste has nowhere to go

Waste knows no borders, owners, or beliefs. In remote areas, it clogs drains, taints water, and undercuts livelihoods, hitting those with the fewest services the hardest. As plastics persist and break down into microplastics, the costs compound—on health, education, and equality. Acting now with practical, community-owned solutions is the fastest path to relief.

Volunteer

We aim to end unmanaged waste in the communities we serve.

Our strategy is twofold: stop leakage at the source with Bank Sampah, local collection, and sorting routes—and change habits for good through schools, youth, and adat-aligned engagement. As communities take full ownership and systems run without us, our work is done.

Projects

Our partners

  • https://bintari.or.id/en/

    Bintari Indonesia

    BINTARI is an Indonesian NGO partnering across sectors to advance environmental protection, climate action, and sustainable development locally.

  • https://www.idn-lc.nl/

    Indonesia Liveable Cities

    We promote liveable Indonesian cities and strengthen Indonesia–Netherlands ties.

  • https://idn-nl.nl/

    Indonesia Diaspora Network

    IDN-Global, is a non-political, non-profit, independent and global organization that aims to facilitate cooperation between ID communities.

  • Toma Majo Lease

    Toma Majo Lease leads community-owned waste management on Saparua, cleanups, school programs, and Bank Sampah.

  • https://internationalwasteplatform.org/indonesian-wast-platform/

    Indonesia Waste Platform

    We unite sectors nationwide and globally to cut land, freshwater, and ocean waste toward Indonesia’s 2040 70% marine-plastic reduction goal.

  • https://endplasticsoup.org/

    EndPlasticSoup

    EndPlasticSoup unites thousands of Rotarians to cut global plastic pollution by 2050 across water, soil, and air.

  • https://triplebenefit.nl/

    Triple Benefit

    We provide targeted expertise and custom solutions, from build to implementation and training.

  • https://www.happygreenworld.org/

    Happy Green World

    We develop sustainability lessons (waste, water, energy) for children 6–16 and work to integrate them into curricula globally.

  • https://www.clearrivers.eu/

    Clear Rivers

    CLEAR RIVERS is a nonprofit tackling plastic pollution at its source through capture, cleanups, education, and circular reuse.