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Dozens of women lined up in East Jakarta on Monday afternoon with bags filled with plastic bottles, glass containers, paper and cardboard.

They were there to sell their trash to the local “waste bank” cooperative, which is helping to teach residents about recycling and addressing garbage problems in the area.

Tukini, a 63-year-old homemaker, had three plastic bags to be examined and weighed by the employees of the cooperative in the Malaka Sari area of Duren Sawit subdistrict. She said she had been collecting plastic waste for two weeks.

She said her two grandchildren helped her to sort organic and non-organic household waste, inspired by the prospect of making money by doing something for the environment.

“For every piece of garbage I bring here, I will get money,” she said. “Even though I don’t get the cash right away, I am glad I can build up some savings here.”

The recycling program, which started in the area last month, gives participants the option of taking their money every three months or once a year. The waste bank offers Rp 2,000 to Rp 4,000 (23 cents to 45 cents) for each kilogram of plastic waste.

Waste bank personnel also teach residents about turning household waste into compost.

Tukini now collects organic household waste, such as old vegetables and leaves from the front lawn, to turn into compost.

“Now my family throws away a lot less because the garbage has been sorted,” she said.

The waste bank in Malaka Sari was opened on Jan. 26 by the mayor of East Jakarta, Murdhani, and other city officials.

The program is supported by Unilever Indonesia through its Indonesian Unilever Foundation, (YUI), which provided information and legal advice and helped the cooperative get its paperwork sorted out.

Sinta Kaniawati, the general manager of YUI, said the program was part of the Jakarta Green and Clean campaign. She added the waste bank was established in 2007 but only received a permit to operate in 2010.

As part of the program, 10 cooperative waste banks have been set up in Greater Jakarta, the one in Malaka Sari being the latest. “Within seven months, 10 cooperatives have collected 14,000 kilograms of waste worth Rp 23,699,710,” Sinta said.

Sukardi, a residential head in Malaka Sari, said the program had resulted in a noticeable difference in the way residents treated garbage.

“The awareness of the importance of cleanliness has increased and people — especially the women — collect plastic bottles as soon as they see them,” he said.

Sri Bebassari, a waste management specialist and chairwoman of the Indonesian Solid Waste Association, said that by encouraging the establishment of waste banks and composting, Jakarta could slash the amount of trash it dumped at Bekasi’s Bantar Gebang landfill by up to 70 percent.

“This way we can reduce our dependence on Bantar Gebang. However, raising people’s awareness takes a long time,” she said.

As Jakarta’s population increases and the volume of the city’s household waste continues to grow, Sri said, it is more important than ever to educate people about garbage management.

“People have to be slowly but consistently told about the environment and waste management for their own good,” she said.

Seventy percent of the 6,500 tons of garbage generated daily in Greater Jakarta ends up at Bantar Gebang, with the rest going to the Sunter landfill in North Jakarta.

The city administration has said that it wants to cut the amount of garbage processed at Bantar Gebang to 3,000 tons a day by 2012 and 2,000 tons by 2023.