Based on data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN), as of 2021, the mass of waste in Indonesia has reached 68.5 million tons. The number of Islamic boarding schools, which amounts to 36,600 in Indonesia with 3.4 million students–according to data from kemenag.go.id–certainly contributes to this waste generation. On the other hand, the large number of students who produce waste also has great potential to be able to actively participate in managing waste.
Al Hikam Islamic Boarding School Depok City is an Islamic boarding school for college students located in Beji Depok District, West Java and is inhabited by 265 people. This Islamic boarding school produces 33.6 kg of organic waste every day, where 41.8% of it is thrown away. The organic waste produced is dominated by food waste which should have been recycled.
To overcome this problem, the Head of the Community Service Team (Pengmas) of the Environmental Engineering Study Program (PSTL) Faculty of Engineering (FT) Universitas Indonesia (UI), Dr. Cindy Rianti Priadi and team collaborated with Islamic boarding school leaders to install and operate equipment capable of processing organic waste. This tool is the result of patented research, namely Toren Biogas (TORBI). TORBI is an innovation in anaerobic digestion technology which can produce products in the form of fertilizer and biogas which can be used for cooking.
This collaboration has been going on for more than one year. After the installation and operational phase by PSTL FTUI, TORBI is now stable and ready to be operated by Islamic boarding schools independently. To support sustainable operations, the PSTL FTUI team once again conducted socialization and education for the boarding school leaders and students last Saturday (23/09). This socialization and education was also attended by students, lecturers, and researchers from PSTL FTUI as well as the head of the Al-Hikam Student Islamic Boarding School, Depok, K.H. Muhammad Yusron Shidqi.
In this activity, students at the Islamic boarding school could see the miniature of TORBI, understand its design, and understand its work process. The team from PSTL FTUI also explained the types of waste that are permitted and not permitted to be processed in TORBI.
“There are many kinds of waste that can go into TORBI, therefore we just need to remember the waste that cannot go into TORBI, which includes organic waste that has solid forms (chicken bones and fish bones), hard forms (tree branches, corn cobs, fruit peels), plastic, soapy water, waste that contain lignin (banana stems, banana peels, banana leaves),” said Ayik Abdillah, S.T., M.Sc., a PSTL FTUI lecturer who was part of the team.
“TORBI innovation is able to produce high quality biogas. With its installation, Al Hikam Islamic Boarding School has begun a major step towards environmental sustainability. This activity emphasizes the importance of waste management, and with strong understanding from participants, it is hoped that there will be significant improvements in maintaining the Islamic boarding school environment. This activity is also FTUI’s commitment to campaigning for green technology and protecting the environment as part of the principles of life wisdom and maqashid shariah,” said the Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU.
Meanwhile, KH Muhammad Yusron Shidqi, head of the Al-Hikam Student Islamic Boarding School, Depok, West Java, said, “Islamic boarding schools have a big influence on the direction of human development. With this program, it is hoped that the Al Hikam Islamic Boarding School in Depok City will be able to process organic waste independently and appropriately to fulfill the Islamic boarding school’s vision and mission.” This shows how this collaboration not only provides practical benefits in waste management, but is also in line with the Islamic boarding school’s vision to contribute to sustainable human development.
TORBI uses anaerobic digestion to produce high quality biogas that can be used for cooking. TORBI undergoes a hydrolysis process followed by acidogenesis and acetogenesis processes which will produce acid compounds as food for methanogenic bacteria to produce methane gas. Furthermore, the methanogen process occurs as a process of converting acid compounds into methane gas which can be used as fuel. Based on research conducted by PSTL FTUI, biogas produced from processing organic waste is capable of producing high CH4 content so that it can be used for cooking using a special biogas stove.
