COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECT

Project L: Household Waste Disposal in Brunei Darussalam

By student: Marlina Bte Hj Japar

Problems:
Brunei dumps 490 tonnes of garbage a day, equivalent to 180,000 tonnes a year.
Therefore, the rate of garbage disposal is very high. Most household wastes such as food
waste, plastic bottles and plastic bags are not disposed of properly and are not sorted out
before being disposed of. In some cases, the household wastes are mixed together, in
some cases the household wastes are burnt. Improper waste disposal results in air
pollution as the smell of the rubbish is horrible. This attracts pests such as rats, snakes
and flies, which can result in the spreading of diseases such as cholera. Furthermore, the
amount of rubbish going into landfill sites increases if the rubbish is not sorted out
properly because recyclable waste is not separated from unrecyclable waste, and a lot of
recyclable waste is not recycled. The government has to increase the amount of land used
for landfill sites.

Possible solutions:
Individual households should be encouraged to sort out their rubbish before disposing of
them. Cooperation between the public sector and the private sector regarding the disposal
of rubbish should be fostered by ensuring that rubbish is first sorted out then disposed of
properly. The government should be encouraged to enforce new rules and regulations on
proper rubbish disposal. Business organisations should be encouraged to use less plastic
bags in packaging. The public should be informed about the importance of recycling, as
well as reducing and reusing household wastes e.g. using food wastes as compost.
 COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECT

Figure 1, 2 & 3. Individual start sorting out rubbish (plastic bottles, tins and papers)
before disposing.

Actions taken:
The writer worked with groups of people in a certain village, encouraging them to sort
out rubbish before disposing of it (putting recyclable and reusable items into separate
bins/containers). The writer informed the people about the advantages of recycling and
proper waste disposal by giving them pamphlets containing the necessary information
regarding the aforementioned matters and tips on how to reduce the amount of household
waste. The people were asked to give their recyclable items to a recycling company. They
 COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING PROJECT

were also encouraged to use their food waste as compost and given information on how
to do so.

Figure 4, 5 & 6. Photographs showing the village resident sorting out the recyclable
items (papers, plastic and glass bottles).