Badung Environment Agency Pressures Vendor Over Piling Waste at Sempidi TPS3R
The Environment and Hygiene Agency (DLHK) of Badung Regency has summoned the management of the Bumi Resik Reuse, Reduce, Recycle Waste Processing Site (TPS3R) in Sempidi Urban Village and the Sempidi Traditional Village to address the mounting pile of unprocessed waste. Waste handling in the area has stalled, triggering a polemic over environmental pollution.
“We cannot just wait for equipment that we do not know when it will arrive to handle the waste there. If you are no longer capable, just say so. Do not make us wait for a system or equipment that we have no idea about,” said Head of DLHK Badung, Made Rai Warastuthi, during a mediation session at the DLHK Badung office on Tuesday (21/7/2026).
DLHK Badung urged the vendor, PT Hejotech, to immediately disclose concrete short-term measures regarding the waste pile at the location. Warastuthi emphasised that the Badung Regency Government is ready to assist with emergency handling if the private company is no longer able to manage residents’ waste.
As a short-term measure, the TPS3R manager agreed to evacuate the unsorted waste to another holding area by deploying heavy equipment and 20 trucks daily. This will be done while awaiting the availability of a shredding machine.
“If they commit to 20 truck units per day plus an excavator, we will supervise starting tomorrow morning, because we have already issued a warning letter from DLHK,” said Rai Warastuthi.
Meanwhile, the Sempidi Traditional Village admitted it was forced to write to the Badung Regency Government and request intervention because the waste accumulation in their area was alarming. Besides the threat of foul odours and potential disease, the situation is exacerbated by internal problems including delays in workers’ salaries.
“Honestly, until now there have been no concrete steps that I can trust to resolve this matter. I am worried that the waste will smell during the rainy season and then cause disease,” said Bendesa Adat Sempidi, I Gusti Ngurah Martana.
Martana explained that the problem was triggered by a surge in waste volume reaching 10 tonnes per day, whereas the initial estimate for waste entering the Sempidi TPS3R was only 5 to 7 tonnes per day. According to Martana, the manager became increasingly overwhelmed due to illegally dumped waste on the roadside. As a result, nearly 300 tonnes of waste have now accumulated at the site.
Martana admitted to issuing a stern warning to the manager. Nonetheless, the traditional village is still giving the third party an opportunity to rectify the situation. The work contract between the traditional village and the vendor is for 10 years.
“We will give our partner the opportunity to resolve this problem. They have promised to provide 20 trucks to clear the piled-up waste. Moreover, we cannot simply terminate the cooperation because we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding,” he said.
He stated that the Sempidi Traditional Village welcomed the investment offer for waste processing without village operational costs due to limited human resources and budget. The move also aimed to support the regional government’s policy following the closure of the Suwung Landfill since early April 2026.
Martana explained that in the initial phase of the TPS3R operation, the vendor had only conducted small-scale trials of processing organic waste into compost. However, all processing facilities are now paralysed and buried under new waste due to the lack of adequate operational funds from the third party.
Responding to the pressure, the management promised to deploy around 20 truck units per day to evacuate the waste pile, estimated at 300 tonnes. The vendor is also exploring cooperation to send organic waste to a privately owned processing facility to accelerate the temporary clearance of the TPS3R area.
“We will collect the waste with about 20 dump trucks per day. The rest, the inorganic waste, will still go to Suwung,” said PT Hejotech CEO Rina Aprili Soma after the meeting.