Mosques are traditionally revered as hubs of community activity in Indonesia's mostly Muslim population, in addition to being places of worship. Mosque administrators also play an influential role to unite communities and galvanize support on key communal issues such as public health and waste management.

Therefore, when it comes to pushing for a green and sustainable lifestyle, it's only natural to seek increased involvement with mosques.  With UNDP’s support, the Indonesian Ulemma Council and the Secretariat of the National Coordination Team for Handling Marine Debris, recently mobilized public collection of plastic debris at Baitul Makmur Mosque in Bekasi town. The event was also supported by multinational food company Danone Indonesia.

Entitled “GRADASI”, the event was held following last year’s workshop which aims to invite mosque administrators to encourage communities to adopt recycling lifestyle and collect plastic waste for donation. So far, 15 mosques have expressed interest in participating in the program.

Rofi Alhanif, the Assistant Deputy for Solid Waste and Waste Management at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment noted that “Alms ( charity to the poor) do  not always imply money; it can also be in the form of waste donation. This movement creates opportunities for everyone to give alms." 

Ahmad Bahri Rambe, National Project Manager for Marine Plastic Litter Reduction Acceleration Secretariat at UNDP Indonesia said, "We are the largest Muslim country in the world, but we are also known as one of the largest producers of marine debris in the world. The GRADASI Movement is one of the efforts to increase public awareness where the mosque is at the center of the waste management. It is hoped that mosques can be at the forefront to help the government to achieve the target of reducing 70 percent of plastic debris in the ocean by 2025.”

Karyanto Wibowo, Director of Sustainable Development of Danone Indonesia said the initiative could have a significant positive impact.

"At Danone Indonesia, we believe that the efforts to reduce waste and contribute to the government efforts to reduce marine debris starts at the bottom, for instance, through a proper waste management from the home and from houses of worship,” he said.

”Our commitment to support this movement is to buy the collected waste to be transported to the Recyling Business Unit (RBU) in South Tangerang to then be processed into raw materials for Danone products, " he added.

This event collected 6.8 tons of waste — mainly paper, cardboard, and related material — donated by the communities around the mosque.  A website of the waste monitoring program and handed over recycling waste bins to Baitul Makmur Mosque, was also launched. There were also bazaars of processed and recycled waste products as well as an educational program for children.

It is hoped that this campaign would persuade more people to adopt a greener and more sustainable lifestyle. The initiative also provides houses of worships a larger part in encouraging communities to conduct proper waste management.