Breadfruit, (malangkota.go.id) – The public's ignorance of the importance of managing waste properly so as not to pollute the environment, was revealed as a factor that influenced the bad habit of Open Defecation (BABS). Not many people realize that poor sanitation also increases generational health threats, such as stunting.

The phenomenon found on the banks of the Kasin River, Tanjungrejo Village, Malang City is a general portrait of the sanitation of riverbank residential areas in Indonesia which should raise collective awareness.
As expressed by the Head of the Tanjungrejo Barokah Utilization and Management Group (KPP), Wowok. "In the past, many residents directly disposed of it into the river, including me," said Wowok, describing the habits of residents of RW 02 Tanjungrejo in treating their household waste before the presence of the community-based sanitation program (Sanimas).
It is commendable that in the last decade, the understanding to pay more attention to aspects of domestic waste and sanitation in general has increased at both the national and regional levels.
He added that now the community has begun to become aware of the environment, cleanliness, health, and healthy living behavior has changed.
In addition, the commitment of the Malang City Government is also recognized by the community as increasing. Among them, with the issuance of Malang Mayor Regulation Number 32 of 2019 which emphasizes the direction of optimizing village funds for sanitation. Most recently, the Scheduled Fecal Sludge Service (LLTT) has been launched to answer the need for safe sanitation management in a non-pipeline system.
Based on data from the Public Works, Spatial Planning, Housing and Settlement Areas Agency (DPUPRPKP) of Malang City, the achievement of access to proper sanitation continues to increase and has reached 84,12% in 2020. This means that Malang City is increasingly in line with the dream of being free from BABS or now often known as 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF).
On a micro scale, the transformation of the face of sanitation in Tanjungrejo is a sweet note that is expected to be motivating amidst the various challenges still being faced.
Five years after its inception, the Sanimas Program, a collaboration between the PUPR Ministry and the City of Malang, has provided a Wastewater Treatment Plant (IPAL) that provides access to proper sanitation for 158 Heads of Families (KK). It does not stop there, as many as 30 Communal Septic Tank points have been built since 2019 and have served 10 KK per point or a total of almost 300 KK.
Agung Widayanto, facilitator of the Sanimas program, said that the Communal Septic Tank is a new approach that is very suitable for densely populated urban areas because it practically does not require a large area of land and is able to process domestic waste until it is suitable for disposal and no longer pollutes the environment through a safe biological process.
Likewise, the various facilities that are built will not be successful without change. mindset and public awareness.
"The implementation involves Community Self-Help Groups (KSM). So, this activity is called Community-Based Sanitation (Sanimas) which is assisted by facilitators or assistants starting from planning, implementing, and operating the existing funds," Agung continued.
Transformation mindset become an important lesson from the collaborative practices of the center, regions, communities, and non-governmental organizations, such as IUWASH in changing the face of the riverbanks in Tanjungrejo from an area prone to domestic waste pollution to one of the national sanitation examples.
Asapun is floated on the occasion of World Environment Day so that we are increasingly aware of the importance of sanitation's contribution to restoring the ecosystem.
On the other hand, the Head of RW 02 Tanjungrejo Village, Sumaji, revealed that initially some of his residents were reluctant to build sanitation facilities on the grounds that there was no land around their homes.
This is because the public does not know that this sanitation is watertight and will be drained at least once every three years. So, residents do not need to worry about bad odors around their homes. (ari/yon)