Sampah dari Perspektif Budaya : Kontruksi Makna dan Praktik Pengelolaannya dalam Masyarakat Desa Gemawang

Improper waste management can create new environmental and health problems. In Central Java Province, data shows that approximately 59% of garbages managed improperly. This study aims to understand the garbage’s social construction in Gemawang Village, focus on changing waste management habits and practices. Gemawang Village is one of the best waste management innovation villages in Central Java. This village has successfully developed waste management system that reduces garbage, raises awareness and community participation in maintaining a clean environment. This study uses Berger's social construction theory, which includes externalization, objectivation, and internalization, to examine how new practices and meanings about garbage in daily life. The research method used qualitative approach with case study. Data were obtained through interviews, field observations, and documentation. The results show changing meaning of garbage, from previously considered as discarded things to the economic value things. The practical shift occurred from burning in the hole to organized management through TPS3R, waste banks, and LOSIDA. Village regulations serve to institutionalize new practices, and community leaders become agents who strengthen collective awareness. In conclusion, waste management in Gemawang Village represents a change in the meaning of waste that integrates economic, ecological, and cultural values ​​in community life.