Aiming to break the generational cycle of waste pickers, XS Project creates and sells products made from waste materials. Despite serious obstacles, their priority is to improve the lives of families, especially of waste pickers children.
Being a trash picker ( Pemulung ) are not a 'human' profession, but in Indonesia, thousands of people living below the poverty line, without qualification , take this role. In Jakarta, the garbage pickers earn about Rp.50,000 day, low income definitely for those seeking to provide for their families. With such limited financial resources, not only are they unable to support their families, but they also face difficulties in meeting their basic needs for health and education.
One of the hardest consequences of working as a garbage picker is unable to send their children to school. This eventually becomes a cyclical existence, because children are not likely able to break this life as well.
General Manager of the XS project, Retno Hapsari, believes that people's tolerance for waste pickers is responsible for appalling conditions of garbage.
Whatever public sympathy for Pemulung, she thinks that many people do not realize their true impact on waste pickers and their families.
"People do not have an understanding of what the impact is to abuse the environment," she claims, which in turn leads to the living conditions for undeserved the Pemulung.
XS Project is a nonprofit organization looking to improve the living conditions of trash collectors. Although the environment remains their main concern is the children of garbage collectors that
The members of the project staff XS
they are more worried because they hold the key to breaking the generational cycle. To help eliminate the problem, they create useful products made from waste materials, including plastic bags, used panels and car seat covers, and sell them; product which are given to the families of Pemulung. The funds are allocated to educational expenses such as books, uniforms, school meals and snacks, and transportation.
Over the last 10 years, from XS Project began operations, Hapsari noticed that companies have found ways to give excuses to waste. Today it seems that the amount of plastic produced increases because companies tend to compensate by social responsibility (CSR) recycling programs and educate people about the environment. That said, Hapsari believes these companies are still missing the point of not producing waste in the first place.
Hapsari also feels that consumers should know better. "Even if the company creates waste, consumers must understand that they must sort their waste," she said. The problem is, even if consumers do separate their waste, the government does not support with a waste management system.
Some people have also made efforts to implement a lifestyle environmentally but Hapsari think when it comes to performance, many fail miserably. She doubts if people really understand how to "go green" when actually works in practice, they still go to the grocery store and leave with plastic bags in hands. "This is" going green "You are supposed to refuse the use of plastic and sort your waste," she says
At the end of the day, the question remains.. How can we What if we can not continue with the provision of waste, favored by such a lack of understanding and subversive mentality that overlooks the waste as a problem
? 
XS Project continues to help improve the livelihoods of waste pickers by buying them waste market prices above, the achievement of health checks to ensure that garbage pickers and their families to stay in good shape, and control the quality of products for consumers. More importantly, they rely on education to ensure the opportunity for children to pursue a different path.
The day the waste will naturally no longer the winning day for Project XS. Until then, they continue to work on improving the garbage picker community, even if they are far from achieving victory. As Hapsari acknowledges, "What we do is actually very small. But better than doing nothing."
To support Project XS, you can buy their products and donate. For more information, visit www.xsproject-id.org