| Work Detail |
For the past three months Inle Hnin Si has taken over garbage collection and waste disposal in Nyaung Shwe township – the tourist hub of the famous Inle Lake in Shan State.
The social enterprise, comprising the town’s youth and other residents, has been very efficient in keeping the township litter-free since they signed a deal with the local government.
Twice a week they collect the commercial and residential garbage in the town with clockwork efficiency and the unconditional cooperation of both residents and businesses.
Their efficiency in providing the service did not surprise anyone, since the group was already collecting garbage for free in areas that the township development committee could not reach.
Before transforming itself into a social enterprise, Inle Hnin Si was known as Inle Hnin Si charity foundation. The group also has a savings and loan association for its members. It also organised the Shwe Innthu Self-reliant Services Association to provide alternative tourism-based livelihood programmes.
In 2016, the group registered as a private company and won a tender for a five-year concession to run a futsal field in the town.
U Than Tun Aung, chair of the township development committee, said no businessman wanted to go into the garbage collection business since they considered it a losing venture.
“The profit margin is low, but because they are from charity foundation,” he said, “their desire to serve is strong and people want to cooperate with them. The community likes them.”
When the township development committee decided to privatise the garbage collection business, local officials asked Inle Hnin Si to transform itself into a commercial company to take over the service.
Inle Hnin Si was registered in February 2018 as a private limited company that provides rubbish collection and sanitation services, with the company holding 51 percent of the shares, using funds from its savings and loans association, and the remaining 49pc being bought by public investors.
“The company not only profits from operating the futsal field, but also from a plastic bottle collection business,” U Than Tun Aung said. “The money is used to cover the cost of the trash disposal business, which is not yet making money.”
To carry out the business, Inle Hnin Si had to study the methods of private garbage collection companies in other cities.
The company did not like the open pit and trash incineration system, so it uses rubbish segregation. It separates trash into those that can be recycled, like plastic and tin; kitchen waste, which can be used as fertiliser; food waste, which can be used as animal feed; and construction waste, which is used in landfills.
The government has provided the company with land where it converts biodegradable garbage from hotels and restaurants in town into fertiliser. It also plans to raise pigs and cattle.
U Than Tun Aung said Inle Hnin Si is not making a profit from garbage collection but considers it part of its community service. The organisation, with the help of local officials, is linking up with international non-governmental groups to produce commercial products from plastic waste.
He said he is sure that Inle Hnin Si’s services will eventually be able to make a profit. |
