The heat is intense. In the incineration room of the TPST in Desa\nKutuh, Badung, the fire is allowed to burn, reportedly reaching 1,000\ndegrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
Outside the room, several women sit in a row with bamboo baskets\nbeside them. They sort mixed waste without masks, only equipped with\ngloves and boots. A pungent smell seems to be part of the daily air.<\/p>\n
Standard safety posters are displayed on the wall. However, a few\nmeters away, incinerator operators work with minimal protection. Gloves\nare provided. Footwear consists only of flip-flops.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should wear complete PPE,\u201d said Wandri, the incinerator\noperator who accompanied detikBali on a tour on Sunday (December 28,\n2025).<\/p>\n
There have been accidents. One worker was hit by a spray of hot smoke\nwhile routinely checking the burning process every five minutes. His\nface was affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just because he was careless,\u201d said Wandri. The worker has\nstopped working and returned to Bandung, West Java, although he briefly\nreturned to work after the incident. The medical costs, according to\nWandri, were covered by the company.<\/p>\n
Inside the furnace, the process begins with wood scraps sent from\nNusa Dua. The first two hours are the dry combustion phase to raise the\ntemperature. After that, up to 18 tons of mixed waste per day from one\nof the villages in Kuta is added. Batteries, lamps, glass bottles, and\naerosol packaging are separated because they pose an explosion risk. The\nrest is burned together. Organic and inorganic materials merge in the\nfire.<\/p>\n
There is no digital thermometer displaying the exact number. Wandri\nbrings his hand close to the furnace mouth to estimate the temperature.\n\u201cIf I can still hold my hand near the furnace, it means it\u2019s not yet\n1,000 degrees Celsius. It\u2019s still around 900 degrees Celsius,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The remaining ash is left over from the fire. In the corner of the\nsorting room, paving blocks made from processed ash are leaning without\na clear distribution plan. The recycling program is hampered by a lack\nof manpower and the absence of a marketing channel. Meanwhile, on the\nopen land near the machine, what remains is a spread of ash and dry\nsoil.<\/p>\n
Wandri mentioned that the ash contains good nutrients. Melon plants\nonce grew there. However, detikBali\u2019s observation on Sunday (December\n28, 2025) showed that the land is now barren.<\/p>\n
In Linggasana, Smoke Returns to the Ground<\/p>\n
At the Linggasana landfill in Karangasem, the story is similar. The\nincinerator has been operating since January 2025, burning about 15 tons\nof waste per day.<\/p>\n
Wayan Budi, the operator there, said he had received mesh vests and\nhelmets. However, this protection is considered insufficient for the\nclaimed burning temperature of 1,000 degrees.<\/p>\n
A request for additional PPE has been submitted. It has not yet been\nfulfilled. The bamboo baskets used to transport waste are also fragile\nand are being repaired as best as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the morning shift, the task is to remove the remaining ash from\nthe burning process. Plastic waste like this is put in and burned. It\u2019s\nnot yet ash, but rather embers. This means the waste has not been\ncompletely destroyed. The concept of combustion is to put dry waste in\nfirst and then pile it with wet waste so that the heat from the wet\nwaste dampens it. Wet in the sense of leaves,\u201d Budi explained.<\/p>\n
According to him, the smoke no longer billows wildly like open\nburning. The chimney directs it upwards. However, the height of the\nchimney is considered inadequate. When the wind changes direction, the\nsmoke returns to the incineration room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been told by family members about the health risks, but\nthankfully, so far, hopefully, there will be no health complaints in the\nfuture,\u201d Budi said.<\/p>\n
Residents around the TPST in Desa Kutuh have also begun to feel the\nimpact. Wayan Satuh, who lives not far from the location, said that the\nsmell and smoke often disturb him. One guesthouse is said to have been\nempty because guests could not stand it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not bad, but the problem is where the smoke is actually placed.\nShould it be raised or how? It\u2019s nature. If the wind changes tomorrow, I\nwill be the one affected. There may be seeds of disease. Because disease\nis not visible,\u201d said Satuh.<\/p>\n
The Questionable Economic Claim<\/p>\n
Amidst Bali\u2019s waste generation of 1.2 million tons per year or 3,436\ntons per day based on SIPSN 2024, incinerators are presented as a quick\nsolution. Moreover, the Suwung landfill is scheduled to close on March\n1, 2026.<\/p>\n
The Village Head of Desa Kutuh, I Wayan Mudana, said that the\nincinerator, which costs Rp 1 billion, does not impose a large\noperational cost. The village only allocates Rp 5-6 million for\nreplacing furnace bricks and less than Rp 15 million in 2025 for broken\nbricks.<\/p>\n
In Karangasem, the Head of Waste Management at the Department of\nEnvironment, I Wayan Merta, said that the waste management budget for\n2025 reached Rp 15.77 billion, including the purchase of an incinerator\nfor Rp 4 billion and other operational costs.<\/p>\n
However, Nindhita Proboretno, Co-Director of Nexus3 Foundation,\nreminded that there are costs that are not always visible on paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may be economical because only operational costs are included.\nNot health costs, ash management, and monitoring. It has not been\ncalculated comprehensively, which will result in higher costs. Not\nincluding external costs can lead to other consequences,\u201d explained\nNindhi.<\/p>\n
In February 2026, the operation of the incinerator at the Linggasana\nlandfill was stopped. Merta said that the decision referred to the ban\non the use of mini-incinerators conveyed by the Minister of Environment\nof the Republic of Indonesia, Hanif Faisol, regarding persistent\nemissions for up to 20 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe dared to use the incinerator after studying the PDU Mengwitani.\nBecause it has been closed there and monitored by a central team, we\nwill coordinate with the center about this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dioxins, Ash, and Unanswered Questions<\/p>\n
In a publication by the Nexus3 Foundation, waste incineration has the\npotential to release persistent compounds such as BFR, BPA, Phthalates,\nand PFAS. Incomplete combustion can also form dioxins (PCDDs), which are\nassociated with cancer and hormonal disorders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis applies to small and large incinerators, because the\ntemperature must be above 800 degrees Celsius, which takes time. How\nlong\u2026\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hidden-risks-behind-1-000-degree-waste-incineration-in-bali-1772047432", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }