The Ministry of Industry pays attention to waste management in the Small and Medium Industry (IKM) sector. Efficiency and safety of IKM waste treatment is an important aspect to realize a green industry.

The application of a green industry is needed so that SMEs can be competitive in the midst of today's environmental changes. Moreover, SMEs are believed to have a strategic role in the national economy.

"We support IKM players to be more aware of the importance of adapting in doing their business, so that they are more productive and more environmentally friendly," said the Head of the Standardization and Industrial Services Policy Agency (BSKJI) of the Ministry of Industry, Doddy Rahadi.

Doddy said that currently BSKJI is running an environmental management assistance program for IKM. The goal is for SMEs to understand and apply waste treatment processes in industry.

The mentoring program is carried out by one of the work units under the Ministry of Industry's BSJKI, namely the Center for Industrial Pollution Prevention Technology (BBTPPI) in Semarang. The large center provides assistance in environmental management for IKM through BIDIK PESONAMU (BBTPPI supports professional, environmentally friendly, and advanced small industries).

There are at least two types of IKM that are considered to still contribute to environmental waste, namely batik and tofu. According to data from the Ministry of Industry, currently the batik industry is spread across 101 centers in Indonesia. Meanwhile, there are at least 203 industries that are engaged in the production of tofu and its processed products.

The big role of the two industries in the national economy cannot be separated from the need and awareness of the impact of production on environmental pollution. The reason is, there are still many tofu factories that do not have a liquid waste treatment process. While in batik IKM, there is a lot of potential for pollution, including solid waste, liquid waste, and air emissions.

"Batik IKM in Indonesia is also a derivative of the textile industry which has a strategic role in national development because of its contribution to employment, fulfilling domestic clothing needs and as a sector that generates export foreign exchange with a significant value, so that the sustainability of the industry needs special attention," said Doddy.

The Ministry of Industry's support program for waste management for IKM tofu producers has been running in the Magelang, Singkawang, Makassar, Kediri and Bandung areas. These activities are in the form of assistance in clean production and facilitation of machines and equipment for processing waste at the IKM tofu center.

“By looking at some of the potential waste generated in the tofu and batik industries, we are trying to direct SMEs to apply the principles of green industry through this activity. It is hoped that through this activity, IKM actors can gain the best knowledge about the green industry,” said Doddy.

Meanwhile, the Head of BBTPPI, Emmy Suryandari, expressed his concern for the development of the IKM sector which is environmentally sound, which is expected to increase its productivity and competitiveness.

BBTPPI introduced the Hybrid Advanced Oxidation Process (HAOP) technology as the second generation of Electrochemical AOP as an advance treatment for batik waste processing which can be applied to narrow areas with a process that tends to be faster. This technology can also be integrated with conventional technologies such as the anaerobic process.

SMIs can also start implementing reduce, reuse, recycle, and recovery in every production process so that they generate less waste and are easier to handle. Furthermore, tofu waste which contains high organic matter can be converted into biogas to be reused as an energy source.

BBTPPI also assures IKM that circular economy in tofu waste treatment can be achieved using integrated biological treatment which effectively reduces pollutants to meet quality standards and even produces energy that can be used for reprocessing.