The volume of food waste in Indonesia continues to increase, making Indonesia one of the countries that produce the most food waste in the world, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (2021). To tackle the problem, Bank DBS Indonesia as a purpose-driven bank together with Kebun Kumara present Kompos Kolektif, a programme to turn food waste into compost to prevent food waste from ending up in landfills (TPA). The Kompos Kolektif programme has been running since June 2022 as part of the Towards Zero Food Waste campaign launched by Bank DBS Indonesia in 2020 to raise public awareness of the problem of food waste.

According to data collected by the National Waste Management Information System (Sistem Informasi Pengelolaan Sampah Nasional, SIPSN), food waste accounts for up to 41.1 percent of the 28.6 million tonnes of waste generated in Indonesia. Kebun Kumara also found that food waste currently accounts for 60 percent of the total 7,800 tonnes of waste in Jakarta. Piles of food waste that are not managed properly will produce methane, a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide, which threatens public health and worsens global warming.

Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications, PT Bank DBS Indonesia Mona Monika stated, “Tackling food waste in Indonesia is our collective responsibility and requires real action. As a manifestation of one of our sustainability pillars, namely Creating Social Impact Beyond Banking, since 2020, Bank DBS Indonesia has carried out various campaigns to educate people about the dangers of food waste, including the #MakanTanpaSisa programme which has succeeded in creating around 43 tonnes of food impact. Now, we want to expand the reach of and education on food waste composting. In addition, collaboration with social entrepreneurs such as Kebun Kumara is also the focus of the same pillar of sustainability. We also invite Bank DBS Indonesia’s employees to participate in this programme so that they can expand the positive impact.”

This year, Bank DBS Indonesia plans to achieve 26 tonnes of food impact, including through the Kompos Kolektif programme held in collaboration with Kebun Kumara from June to December 2022.

Kebun Kumara Co-Founder Siti Soraya Cassandra said, “Having the same vision as Bank DBS Indonesia, we acknowledge the importance of promoting a more sustainable lifestyle that is in harmony with nature. Through the Kompos Kolektif programme we encourage people to separate organic waste from inorganic waste at home, and provide education on food waste composting. We hope that more people will contribute to efforts to reduce the amount of food waste in landfills so that we can realise the #ZeroToLandfill target.

Kompos Kolektif is a programme that turns food waste into compost using black soldier fly (BSF) bioconversion agents provided by Magalarva. The programme also provides services for people who want to recycle their food waste. For a fee of Rp100,000 per month, people will have their waste collected four times a month, garbage bags and waste disposal reports, as well as potting soil produced from food waste composting that is delivered every three months.

The Kompos Kolektif programme confirms Bank DBS Indonesia's commitment to implementing its third pillar of “Creating Impact Beyond Banking”, to encourage people to adopt the "Sustainable More, Waste Less" principle or a more sustainable lifestyle, including by reducing food waste. To spread the positive impact, Bank DBS Indonesia also encourages its employees to engage in volunteering through DBS’ employee volunteer movement, People of Purpose.

Bank DBS Indonesia through DBS Foundation supports the development of social entrepreneurs seeking to address social problems in Indonesia, including Kebun Kumara. Through these efforts, Bank DBS Indonesia hopes to create a better world. Bank DBS Indonesia provides social entrepreneurs with access to diversified resources, from skills training and capacity building to opening up opportunities to build networks and business opportunities through various programmes and channels.

Bank DBS Indonesia's #MakanTanpaSisa programme and its support for social entrepreneurship have earned the bank various prestigious awards, including Best Pandemic PR Program (MIX PR Awards 2022) and Outstanding Program in Encourage Social Entrepreneurship and Community Impact (Indonesia CSR Award 2022). For more information about Kompos Kolektif, please visit https://dbslivemoresociety.com/html/tzfw/ and follow Instagram @dbsbankid.

Bank DBS Indonesia and Kebun Kumara encourage people to manage food waste through the “Kompos Kolektif” programme