Prose and Essays

Green City

Green City
By LMFFB

Made up of a chain of thousands of islands between Asia and Australia, Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state. Indonesia’s people are diverse, speaking more than 300 languages and ranging from cosmopolitan urbanities to rural villagers. 

It is now the world's third most populous democracy, with a capital based in Jakarta. It has made a relatively large dent in the global economy and considered part of the world's richest nations. The country is known for biodiversity as well as cultural diversity. Indonesia is located in the Coral Triangle, which has more than 3,000 species of fish – about seven times as many as in the entire Caribbean!

These facts have been circulating in the internet and creating positive impressions about our dear nation. With Jakarta as its capital, we are an expanding city! A city so prosperous that many business moguls wanted to invest in!

However, on the other side of the coin, we are a city moving towards its doom! According to Wikipedia, one of the devastating issues our country faces are the environmental problems. These problems are highly associated with the country's high population density and rapid industrialisation, and they are often given a lower priority due to high poverty levels, and an under-resourced governance. Issues include large-scale deforestation; over-exploitation of marine resources; and environmental problems associated with rapid urbanisation and economic development, including air pollution, traffic congestion, garbage management, and waste water services.

Waste management has always posed an issue in the country. It cripples our nation. It destroys the beauty of our city! In 2015, Jakarta produced 7,500 tons of waste each day and has dumped 6,700 tons at the dumpsite in Bekasi, West Java. And we are said to be producing more each day!

What are we gonna with these wastes? Where are we going to dispose them? Several news have reported that lives were taken and will bring more deaths if we won't stop the problems in our wastes!

We have to play our part! Efficient and effective waste management is best achieved at household levels. If every person gets involved, we can have a powerful effect on our environment. 

There are millions of great teens like you and me who appreciate the magnitude of the waste problems and are doing the right things to help. But we can do so much more!

Here is what you can do: Following the world renowned 3Rs, we first REDUCE. Reduce creating wastes. The next time you change the waste-bin bag, take a look inside it. Cut the waste you produce at home into half.

Second, RE-USE. Re-use things that end up as wastes and can be used over and over again like the package boxes, clothing, furniture and even playing toys. Do not be too quick to throw them away.

Lastly, RECYCLE. Recycling is processing wastes into new, useful products. This is done to reduce the use of raw materials that would have been used. Recycling also uses less energy and a great way of controlling air, water and land pollution.

Reducing, re-using and recycling start in the place where the wastes were created, our households. And we have control over these places. We, the youth, can effect little changes in our homes and create a great impact in our society. We have a problem with our wastes, but, they can't stop achieving our dream of living in a city so clean and green!