By Fr. Ariel Macatangay SDB
DBTI Economer

Port Moresby, PNG, 25 August 2020 -- A confluence of factors contributed to make us initiate an Integrated Waste Management Plan this year at Don Bosco Technological Institute (DBTI). First of all, Pope Francis has instituted 2020, starting on 24 May, as the Year of Laudato Si'. Incidentally, the Rector Major of the Salesian Society, Fr. Angel Artime, chose as the theme of this year’s strenna, “Good Christians, Upright Citizens.” In that strenna, Fr. Angel emphasized concrete initiatives for the care of the environment as practical ways of exemplifying being upright citizens. In our Vice-Province of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, the Council has chosen to focus its Thrust on Laudato Si, proposing attitudes to be developed for each month. The points of emphasis for the months of June, July and August are the three terms commonly used to designate practical care for the environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Moreover, DBTI is a member of Don Bosco Green Alliance, an international movement of young people from the Salesian Family institutions, who contribute to global environmental action, thought and policy. Recently Pope Francis invited Don Bosco Green Alliance to lead the school sector during the Year of Laudato Si.

There were efforts at waste collection in DBTI, like buying of willie-bins, weekly rubbish collection, selling of scrap metal, etc. But these have focused more on waste collection rather than on waste management. Much of these efforts depended on a few of the staff and the regular community service by the male student residents. There is weekly rubbish collection using three huge bins and occasional gathering of assorted rubbish in a big metal skip bin, done by a private company. These are very expensive to sustain and we are not sure if our rubbish is disposed of in an environmental friendly way. We have an incinerator used to burn paper, cartons, plastic materials and other stuff. The smoke produced can disturb the community, our neighbors and the environment. Furthermore, we foresee a problem of how to properly dispose the ashes from this incinerator. This year, three big compost pits were made at the back of the school, two at the Salesian residence, and two others at the staff houses. However, this needs constant follow-up, since some mix different types of rubbish into the compost pit.

There is, therefore, a need for an Integrated Waste Management for DBTI. We would wish that all members of the community will be involved in this project and that all types of waste can be properly disposed of. Our ultimate goal is Zero Waste, as it is defined by the Zero Waste International Alliance: “The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”

Our first step in realizing this project is organizing a team. Fr. Ariel Macatangay, DBTI Economer, spearheads this project by calling for interested volunteers from among students and staff. In the initial meeting on June 11, 2020, 8 staff and 6 students attend. The team finalizes an initial plan and volunteer to work on the following areas:

1. Lucy Napitalai, IT instructor and Student Affairs Coordinator, conducts a Waste Assessment Survey of the different school areas in order to assess the types and volume of waste being produced.
2. Rachel Renagi, DBTI Accountant, proposes ways of reducing the use of paper and reusing paper and carton.
3. Fr. Ariel, as Economer, implements Port Moresby’s ban on single-use plastics, reducing packaging, buying durables and items in larger units.
4. Nick Tala, school cleaner, organizes the collection of aluminum tins for sale.
5. Raymond, a second year student and male residents’ In-charge of work, leads students in collecting bottles and plastics for sale.
6. 6. Leslie Brown, a Machine Shop Instructor, continues to organize the collection and sale of scrap metals from the shops.

These initiatives at waste management take place even while the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. During the second lock-down at Port Moresby, the waste management team meets on another Thursday afternoon on 30th July. Even though the team comprises only of the resident staff and students, other members like Clyde and Justin, the acting captain of the male residents, join in. The group evaluates what it has done so far and continues to make suggestions for development and improvement. Soon after the meeting, the following developments take place:

1. Clyde makes a reflection on the lockdown period and lessons he learned while making segregation initiatives. Through the influence of Fr. Ambrose Pereira, Clyde’s reflection is shared in different platforms in social media and televised in national television.
2. Fr. Ariel buys different rubbish bins as the team focuses on rubbish collection at the student and staff residence.
3. Mr. Leslie prepares half metal drums to separately collect biodegradable and non-biodegradable rubbish along the main road of the campus.
4. Atchez, Andy and Lincoln, first year student residents, make regular collection of assorted rubbish through a big metal cart containing segregated bins, that makes the rounds of various sectors in the school along its main road.

1. Organizing a recycling contest that will arouse creativity and inventiveness to come up with practical ways of converting rubbish to more useful purpose.
2. Finding different shops and companies to sell different types of plastics, bottles, tins, papers, cartons and other waste materials.
3. Encouraging research in various ways of reducing, reusing and recycling.
4. Coordinating the shops in merging 5S principles with the integrated waste management of the institution.
5. Turn plastics into decorative and useful materials like traditional bags (“bilums”) and eco-bricks.
6. Integrate environmental concerns and waste management into the curriculum and home room period sessions.
7. Involving the help of neighbors in the settlements to do segregation work.
8. Networking with persons, groups, communities, and companies working with environmental issues.
9. Monitoring, tracking and documenting the hard work being accomplished.

---