What is the name of your organization?
Maggrow
What is the name of your solution?
Loop Larvae
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Tiny Larvae, Big Impact — 10 Spoons Against a Ton of Food Waste
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
West Java, Indonesia
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
Indonesia
What type of organization is your solution team?
Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Indonesia’s waste crisis is not only an environmental challenge but also a painful reminder of a tragedy that occurred in 2005, when a catastrophic waste avalanche struck Leuwigajah Landfill after days of heavy rain. Overloaded and mismanaged, a mountain of garbage collapsed, killing 157 people. The disaster was triggered by a combination of factors: intense rainfall, sudden biogas explosion from organic waste, and human activity. At the time, the 25-hectare site served as the final disposal area for the Bandung Metropolitan Area, receiving around 4,000 tons of unsorted waste daily. The landfill is now closed, and the tragedy is commemorated as National Waste Awareness Day.
Fast forward to 2023, the 49-hectare site Sarimukti Landfill—now the main disposal site for the Bandung Metropolitan's 8.6 million inhabitants—receives approximately 1,750 tons of unsorted waste daily, far beyond its 1,000-ton limit. Alarmingly, half of this is food waste. With household waste as the largest contributor, we must recognize that history could repeat itself if we fail to act. The solution starts at home—through simple, impactful actions like waste sorting and food waste bioconversion using black soldier fly larvae (maggots).
What is your solution?
We’re building a biotech-powered circular economy cycle that turns household waste into valuable resources. Our prototype project, GEMI 0418, is a community-driven initiative started in our neighborhood involving 400 families, focused on improving waste management through door-to-door education and collection. We sort waste into three categories: organic, inorganic, and residual, with a strong focus on organic waste.
Through a process called bioconversion, we use Black Soldier Fly larvae to transform food scraps into high-protein animal feed and organic fertilizer. Just 1 kg of larvae can consume 2 kg of food waste, and we’re currently processing 30 tons of organic waste from households monthly at the city level—waste that would otherwise end up in landfills.
To complete the cycle, we feed our larvae byproducts to catfish, which are raised in a community farm. Compared to conventional feed (27% protein), BSFL offers 47.4% protein, resulting in healthier fish. We harvest 100 kg of catfish per month, which is distributed to residents, sold as ready-to-cook packs, and distributed in partnership with a social enterprise program as an effort to reduce child stunting through better maternal nutrition.
Our solution is beyond waste management—we empower communities and improving local livelihoods while achieving our goal to reduce landfill pressure.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Loop Larvae’s solution is developed to serve many layers of the community in Bandung Metropolitan and extends to other area in Indonesia in tackling the waste crisis through our education and replication program. Our circular economy model focuses on three key pillars: education, production, and distribution.
On the education front, we promote waste sorting, provide waste management facilities, and offer replicable materials to scale our impact. So far, we’ve educated 356 households, served as a study center for four government agencies, and become a research site for life sciences student from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). We are also developing a partnership to deliver waste management seminars in 10 boarding schools across Indonesia.
In the production and distribution phase, our community is our direct beneficiaries. We employ four individuals from underprivileged backgrounds for waste collection and processing, and empower 20 active members through income-generating activities such as larvae farming, fish farming, and product development. Additionally, we partner with social enterprises to supply high-protein meals to 200 pregnant mothers in the region—an effort to support maternal nutrition and combat stunting.
Loop Larvae's solution sees waste as resources and build collaborative, inclusive circular economy throughout the waste management cycle for our communities.
