IN FOCUS: With landfills almost full, Indonesia grapples with\n\u2018ticking time bomb\u2019 of waste crisis<\/p>\n
Indonesia is counting on waste-to-energy plants to tackle its waste\ncrisis, but experts say it\u2019s no substitute for reducing trash at the\nsource.<\/p>\n
DENPASAR\/JAKARTA: With its sandy beaches and lush paddy fields, Bali\nhas long been sold as Indonesia\u2019s picture-perfect island paradise.<\/p>\n
But to locals, especially those living in southern Bali, their\nstreets have been far from dreamy, with piles of trash filling up parts\nof the island in recent months.<\/p>\n
Since Apr 1, residents in Bali have had to separate organic and\ninorganic waste. Organic waste has largely been barred from the island\u2019s\nbiggest landfill, Suwung, which serves the heavily populated and\ntourism-driven south.<\/p>\n
Under the new regulation, residents are supposed to compost or send\ntheir waste to recycling centres.<\/p>\n
Inorganic waste can be sent to a newly established small inorganic\nlandfill in southern Bali.<\/p>\n
Organic waste is biodegradable waste such as fruits and eggshells\nthat originate from plants or animals. Inorganic waste is\nnon-biodegradable waste originating from non-living, synthetic, or\nmineral-based materials, such as bottles and styrofoam.<\/p>\n
The rule was meant to push households and businesses to sort and\nprocess waste at the source, rather than sending everything to a\nlandfill already at breaking point.<\/p>\n
But many residents were still confused and struggling to do so when\nCNA spoke to them two weeks after the new rule was enforced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am confused. But after I learned how to separate the waste, it is\nnot even collected,\u201d said domestic worker Kuswati in Jimbaran, southern\nBali, who goes by one name.<\/p>\n
Bali\u2019s waste problem has had serious consequences. Last September,\nthe island suffered deadly floods caused by waterways blocked by trash,\namong other factors, which claimed the lives of 17 people.<\/p>\n
The island offers a glimpse of the waste crisis unfolding in\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
INDONESIA\u2019S LANDFILLS HITTING CAPACITY<\/p>\n
Indonesia generates 56.6 million tonnes of waste annually, its\nthen-Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said last year.<\/p>\n
The country has 550 landfills, The Jakarta Post reported in June\n2025, and Hanif said they are projected to hit maximum capacity by 2030\nunless significant measures are taken.<\/p>\n
Under former President Joko Widodo, the target was for Indonesia to\nachieve 100 per cent waste management by the end of 2025, but current\nPresident Prabowo Subianto has extended it to 2029.<\/p>\n
Waste management refers to waste that is properly sorted and\ncollected, then converted into raw materials or energy sources, or\nrecycled.<\/p>\n
In February 2026, Hanif said Indonesia\u2019s waste management rate had\nhit 24.95 per cent, up from 10 per cent in early 2025, Antara news\nagency reported. But that means three-quarters of waste is still\nunmanaged, often ending up in open dumps or rivers, or burned, polluting\nthe environment, the Jakarta Globe noted.<\/p>\n
Environmental expert Mahawan Karuniasa from the University of\nIndonesia said Indonesia\u2019s waste problem is not mainly about litter or\ncleanliness but rather a structural crisis of governance, capacity, and\nurban growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear that Indonesia has a waste problem,\u201d Mahawan told\nCNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem isn\u2019t simply the high volume of waste generated, but\nrather the inability of the waste management system to keep pace with,\namong other things, the growth in consumption and urbanisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indonesia\u2019s population is currently about 285 million, up from 258\nmillion a decade ago.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging the problem, President Prabowo declared waste\nmanagement a national priority during a visit on Apr 28 to a waste\nprocessing facility in Banyumas, Central Java, saying Indonesia must\nbring waste under control within two to three years.<\/p>\n
This month, the government is also targeting the groundbreaking of\nfive waste-to-energy projects, namely in Denpasar, Bekasi, Bogor,\nBandung and Yogyakarta, while pushing regions to end open dumping by\nthis year.<\/p>\n
Indonesia currently has two waste-to-energy plants \u2013 typically\nincinerators that generate electricity from the burning of waste \u2013 in\nSurabaya and Solo, according to a policy brief last year by researchers\nfrom University of Maryland in the United States alongside others from\nIndonesia and Denmark.<\/p>\n
News reports in recent years have also cited the presence of some\nsmall incinerators in the country, such as one in Bogor.<\/p>\n
However, experts CNA spoke to said these waste-to-energy projects are\nnot enough to tackle the waste problem, and viable solutions must be\nimplemented to suit each region, such as Bali, which faces overtourism,\nand Jakarta, with an overpopulation issue.<\/p>\n
WHAT IS BALI\u2019S WASTE PROBLEM?<\/p>\n
In Bali, trash has usually been most visible at the end of the year,\nwhen monsoon currents bring waves of plastic and debris onto its\nbeaches.<\/p>\n
But the current problem is different.<\/p>\n
In some neighbourhoods, confusion about the new regulation has led\nresidents to burn or dump their waste onto sidewalks and into drains\nwhen they do not know what else to do.<\/p>\n
Bali generated about 3,400 tonnes of waste per day in 2025 but only\n29 per cent, or around 916 tonnes, was managed, according to Bali\u2019s\nenvironment agency.<\/p>\n
The pressure is not evenly spread across the island.<\/p>\n
Environmental expert Shinta Enggar Maharani from Mahasaraswati\nUniversity said the problem is worse in tourism-centred southern Bali,\nespecially in the island\u2019s capital, Denpasar, and Badung, where hotels,\nrestaurants, villas, construction and changing urban lifestyles generate\nfar more waste than in rural districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive-star hotels already have a system (to manage their waste), but\nthere are more small hotels than four- and five-star hotels,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, the worst are villas, many of which are not\nregistered.\u201d<\/p>\n
For decades, open dumping and reliance on landfills have been the\nmain ways to manage waste in Southeast Asia\u2019s largest economy.<\/p>\n
Indonesia banned open landfills in 2013 because hazardous waste\ndisposal in open fields or landfills pol<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/in-focus-with-landfills-almost-full-indonesia-grapples-with-ticking-time-bomb-of-waste-crisis-1780859445", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }