Waste management, a persisting national challenge, requires solutions that focus not only on downstream handling, but also on building community awareness from the source. Guided by this spirit, the Community Service (KKN) Bentang Sintang Team of Batch 120, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, has initiated a collaboration with the Bowara Sintang Community and the Sintang Children's Forum (Forum Anak Sintang/FAKSIN) to strengthen a community-based waste management movement.

The collaboration was initiated through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) held on Sunday (12/7/2026) along the banks of the Kapuas River, Sintang Regency, West Kalimantan. The meeting served as a dialogue space to map waste management challenges and jointly formulate steps toward building a more sustainable culture of environmental awareness.

The Chair of the KKN Bentang Sintang Team, Mufid, explained that the students have come not to replace the movement already growing within the community, but to strengthen it through an academic, educational, and collaborative approach.

“We can see that Bowara already possesses a remarkable spirit and movement in educating the community. Over the 40 days of our service, we will provide support through the preparation of educational content on waste sorting, waste disposal schedules, campaigns on turning waste into economically valuable products, mentoring on community-based waste management innovation, and building communication with the government and various partners so that this movement can grow broader and more sustainable,” said Mufid.

He noted that the problem of waste will not be resolved simply by holding clean-up drives or relying entirely on the government. Far more important is building community awareness, enabling people to manage waste from the source through sustained education, supported by collaboration among communities, government, universities, and the public.

The Founder of Bowara Sintang, Naufal, welcomed the collaboration warmly. He explained that Bowara is a community that moves voluntarily in environmental care actions, prioritizing education for the public.

“We are a community that wants to move people to care about the environment through clean-up actions paired with education. Our hope is that more and more parties will become involved so that this movement can reach a wider community,” he said.

During the activity, the team also identified various challenges still facing waste management in Sintang Regency, among them limited access to permits for expanding the movement to other areas, waste collection capacity that has not yet reached all zones, and a waste management system after collection that has yet to be fully optimized.

Waste management is therefore seen as requiring a more comprehensive approach through the strengthening of community education, government policy support, and the development of sustainable systems, including the strengthening of waste banks.

As a follow-up to the meeting, the KKN Bentang Sintang Team, together with Bowara and FAKSIN, agreed to build synergy through a complementary division of roles. Bowara will serve as the driving force of action in the field; the government is hoped to strengthen support through policy and facilitation; while UIN Sunan Kalijaga KKN students will contribute through community education, the strengthening of public communication, innovation mentoring, and the building of collaborative networks with various stakeholders to support the development of broader environmental programs.

This synergy among community, government, students, and residents is a strategic step toward building a better culture of waste management, while simultaneously creating social, economic, and environmental benefits for the people of Sintang Regency. (humassk)