Buya’s mission to teach kids waste management in Bali schools

Meet Buya, a biologist who witnessed Bali's landfills literally catch fire from methane gas produced by organic waste and decided to start with the children. Buya has pioneered Indonesia's first comprehensive organic waste education program, teaching kids and their family's how food scraps could fuel environmental disasters.

Discover his innovative plan to create composting partnerships that pay local gardeners, his app-based notification system that keeps clients engaged, and why he believes teaching proper waste separation now will yield results in 10-15 years.

Key Learnings:

• Crisis-driven education: Bali's landfills caught fire from methane gas produced by organic waste, making school-based composting education not just environmental awareness—but critical safety education for the next generation facing overwhelming waste disposal challenges.
• Early intervention strategy: Buya targets primary school children who receive no waste management education at home, believing that teaching proper waste separation and composting habits at ages 6-12 will create lasting behavioral change that emerges in 10-15 years.
• Partnership-powered expansion: Rather than expecting everyone to become composters, Buya plans to pay existing gardeners to process collected organic waste while providing them finished compost—creating income opportunities that simultaneously reduce landfill pressure and support local urban farming initiatives.