Sentani, Jubi – Students from Cenderawasih University's (Uncen) community service programme (KKN) have donated three plastic bottle drop boxes to Asei Besar Village in East Sentani District, Jayapura Regency, Papua, in an effort to encourage waste separation at the source and create economic opportunities through recycling.
The drop boxes were handed over on Friday as part of an environmental initiative aimed at improving plastic waste management in the village.
Hesti Selvianingrum, leader of KKN Group 18, said plastic waste management in Asei Besar still faces several challenges, including the lack of dedicated facilities for sorting plastic bottles and the absence of an integrated collection system linked to a waste bank.
To address these issues, the students built the drop boxes to provide an easily accessible collection point for residents and visitors.
"The programme is not only intended to reduce pollution, but also to educate the community about the importance of separating waste at its source," said Hesti, an accounting student from the 2023 cohort.
She said the initiative marks an initial step towards building a culture of environmental responsibility through collaboration between the Asei Besar village administration, the Yo Holey Village-Owned Enterprise (BUMKam), the Jayapura Waste Bank, Earth Hour Jayapura, and local residents.
Field supervisor Pascalina Sesa said the students had been carrying out their community service programme from June 29 to July 31 under the theme Grounded Community Service.
She said the theme encourages students to engage directly with local communities through practical projects.
"We designed this initiative as a sustainable programme to support the village's development as an ecotourism destination," Sesa said.
Asei Besar village head Anthonetha Ohee welcomed the donation, saying the drop boxes would help raise public awareness about environmental protection while also creating economic value.
"These drop boxes are excellent. Since this village is also a tourist destination, they will encourage people to dispose of waste properly. I am grateful to the students for this contribution," she said.
Ohee noted that residents had previously collected recyclable waste and sold it to a waste bank in Komba, but those activities stopped after flash floods struck the area several years ago.
Accounting lecturer Sara Paru, one of the programme's speakers, said each village in Papua has different characteristics and development priorities for its village-owned enterprises.
"In Asei Island, the priority is strengthening ecotourism," she said.
Paru said that as the village attracts more tourists, the volume of waste generated is also likely to increase.
She said separating plastic waste would not only reduce environmental impacts but also create a new source of income for the village-owned enterprise.
"This is a new opportunity we identified through our Go Green campaign on campus. Plastic waste can be sorted, registered with the waste bank, weighed, and assigned an economic value," she said.