Waste Characterization and Integrated Management Strategy for Small-Island Tourism in Derawan, Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the waste generation and composition characteristics as a technical basis for designing an Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) strategy on Derawan Island, a small island tourism destination. By applying a quantitative method referring to the SNI 19-3964-1995 standard, data were collected over eight consecutive days from three different sources: households (stratified random sampling), the commercial sector (purposive sampling), and marine debris (transect method). The analysis results showed that total daily waste generation reached 2,810.05 kg/day. The specific generation rate of 1.652 kg/capita/day was far above the national average, indicating a "double burden" phenomenon due to high tourism activity. In terms of composition, the waste stream was dominated by organic material (53.99%), followed by inorganic waste (40.18%) and hazardous waste (5.83%). These findings prove that the conventional "collect-transport-dispose" model is highly vulnerable and uneconomical given the 1.5-hour sea transport distance to the final disposal site on the mainland. Therefore, this characterization data supports a decentralized ISWM framework that prioritizes on-site bioconversion of the organic fraction (e.g., composting and utilization of Local Microorganisms/MOL), complemented by high-value recycling recovery. This baseline data-driven approach can theoretically reduce the final residue that must be transported by sea to only 18.15% of its initial mass, thereby overcoming acute logistical constraints while ensuring environmental sustainability for coral reef-based ecotourism.