Empowering Kertajaya 1 Gubeng Residents Through Innovative Trash Bins and Plastic Bottle Pressing Tools

A Closer Look at Group NR 7’s Real Action Through the “ECOVALUE GREENPRESS” Movement

By: Dominikus Manuel Mali Student, Electrical Engineering Department, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya

Group NR 7 students standing proud with the newly developed wire mesh trash bins and manual bottle pressing tools designed for community empowerment.

When an Empty Plastic Bottle Becomes the “Landlord” of Your Trash Bin

Picture this: you’ve just finished a bottle of mineral water after a long, busy day. The bottle is light as a feather, completely empty, and all that’s left is one simple step — toss it in the trash. Easy enough, right? But that’s exactly where a small, often-overlooked problem quietly sneaks in.

In the residential neighborhood of Kelurahan Kertajaya 1, Kecamatan Gubeng, Surabaya, trash bins that should last several days are consistently full within a surprisingly short time. It’s not because residents are suddenly generating mountains of waste, and it’s not the organic scraps piling up either. The real culprit? That seemingly harmless plastic bottle.

Empty plastic bottles have one particularly annoying “talent”: they take up far more space than they deserve. Their weight? Nearly nothing. Their size? Bulky, hollow, and perfectly capable of hogging half a trash bin all on their own. The result is bins that look stuffed to the brim when, in reality, they’re mostly filled with air trapped inside bottle-shaped shells. Litter spilling out onto the street becomes an all-too-familiar sight.

It was out of that shared frustration that a small but meaningful movement was born — and it has a name worth remembering.

Meet ECOVALUE GREENPRESS: “Press the Waste, Maximize the Benefit!

Group NR 7, operating in the Kertajaya 1 Gubeng neighborhood, has a simple yet clever answer to this problem. Under the guidance of their Field Supervisor Lecturer (DPL), Ir. Hery Murnawan, ST., MT., CSCA., they launched a community empowerment program called ECOVALUE GREENPRESS, carrying a no-nonsense slogan: “Press the Waste, Maximize the Benefit!”

The concept is refreshingly uncomplicated — no cutting-edge technology required, no overwhelming instruction manual to read. All it takes are two things: a dedicated plastic bottle trash bin and a mechanical pressing tool.

The trash bin isn’t made of anything fancy. It’s a sturdy wire mesh basket, built to last. Its open-grid design actually comes with a bonus: airflow stays good, and anyone can see what’s inside at a glance without needing to lift the lid. Meanwhile, the pressing tool is a sleek black mechanical device with a design that keeps things beautifully simple — no electricity, no unusual strength needed. Just press down, and the bottle flattens.

The simple yet sturdy mechanical setup of the ECOVALUE GREENPRESS system: a resilient wire mesh basket and a manual lever-based pressing tool.

The working principle is as straightforward as the slogan: Press Easily, Save Space. Residents are invited to sort out their plastic bottles first, press them flat, and then toss them into the wire bin. The once tall, round, space-gobbling bottle becomes a thin, compact disc that stacks neatly on top of the others.

Four Benefits You Can Actually Feel in Everyday Life

So what really changes once this movement gets rolling? As it turns out, the impact goes well beyond tidier trash bins.

First, the volume of waste in the neighborhood drops dramatically. Think about it: one pressed bottle can shrink down to a fraction of its original size. That means one single bin can now hold far more bottles than before — without filling up just because a bunch of hollow bottles decided to take up all the room. The neighborhood looks cleaner, feels less cluttered, and the whole area simply breathes a little easier.

Second, the capacity of trash bins becomes genuinely more efficient. This might sound a bit technical, but it’s something residents feel concretely day to day. A bin that used to overflow in two days can now last significantly longer. Fewer trips to the curb, fewer calls to the cleaning crew, fewer stress-inducing overflowing messes on garbage day. More headspace for things that actually matter.

Third, it contributes to a more sustainable approach to plastic waste. Bottles that have been properly sorted and neatly pressed are far easier to recycle than a jumbled heap of mixed trash. By making sorting a household habit, Kertajaya 1 residents are quietly but meaningfully plugging into a more responsible plastic waste management chain. Small action, real impact.

Fourth — and this is the part that tends to raise eyebrows in a good way — there’s actual economic value here. Flattened, neatly pressed plastic bottles are more attractive to waste collectors and local recycling banks. Why? Because they’re easier to package, require less transport space, and can fetch a better price than bulky, uncompressed bottles. That means a cleaner environment and a little extra income that can flow back into the local neighborhood fund. Not a bad deal at all.

Time to Make This the New Normal

The ECOVALUE GREENPRESS movement is not promising to save the planet by next Tuesday. But that’s precisely what makes it powerful — it doesn’t overpromise. It’s realistic, accessible, and its benefits are felt immediately by the people who put it into practice.

The most important element here isn’t the pressing tool itself, nor the wire mesh basket. It’s the new habit being built together, one bottle at a time. When pressing a bottle before throwing it away becomes as automatic as washing your hands before a meal, that’s when real, lasting change has taken root.

So, to the residents of Kertajaya 1 Gubeng — and to anyone reading this wherever you are: you don’t need a grand program or a government policy to start caring about your immediate environment. Just start with the simplest thing possible — press that bottle before you toss it. Because a clean, comfortable neighborhood doesn’t appear out of thin air. It’s built gradually, through the small habits we choose to keep, every single day.

Press the Waste, Maximize the Benefit! 🌿

This article is a community service output by Group NR 7, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya, conducted in Kelurahan Kertajaya 1, Kecamatan Gubeng, Surabaya, under the supervision of Field Supervisor Lecturer Ir. Hery Murnawan, ST., MT., CSCA