Bantargebang Waste Collapse Claims Lives; Environment Minister Calls for End to Open Dumping
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq has described the waste landslide at Bantargebang Integrated Waste Management Facility (TPST) as a serious warning for the Jakarta Provincial Government to cease open-dumping waste management practices. He called for all parties to take corrective action.
“This incident should not have occurred had waste management been conducted according to regulations. TPST Bantargebang must serve as a lesson for us all to rectify matters immediately, for the safety of human life and environmental conservation,” said Environment Minister and Head of the Environmental Control Agency (BPLH) Hanif Faisol Nurofiq in a statement reported by Antara on Monday (9 March 2026).
Hanif stated that the waste collapse on Sunday (8 March), which claimed four lives, demonstrated systematic failure in Jakarta’s waste management and could no longer be tolerated.
He said the incident served as a serious wake-up call for the Jakarta Provincial Government to immediately cease open-dumping waste management practices, which continue to threaten the safety of residents and workers.
The Ministry of Environment/BPLH has begun comprehensive investigation and enforcement to ensure that Jakarta’s prolonged waste crisis does not claim further lives.
Hanif described Bantargebang as the “tip of the iceberg” in Jakarta’s waste management failures. The facility now bears a critical burden of 80 million tonnes of waste accumulated over 37 years.
The use of open-dumping methods at the site is deemed to violate Law Number 18 of 2008 because the existing system is no longer capable of mitigating safety risks to residents.
This non-compliant condition not only threatens lives due to the potential for further landslides but also constitutes a source of massive environmental pollution.
Similar incidents have occurred at TPST Bantargebang, including residential landslides in 2003 and the collapse of Zone 3 in 2006, which claimed lives and buried dozens of waste pickers.
This pattern of systemic failure continued into January 2026 when a subsidence pulled three waste trucks into the riverbed, followed by another waste pile collapse in March 2026. This sequence of recurring incidents demonstrates fatal risks resulting from overcapacity at TPST Bantargebang.
Given the recurring incidents and associated life-threatening risks, Hanif stated that responsible parties would face strict penalties under Law Number 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management. Criminal penalties ranging from 5–10 years imprisonment and fines of Rp5–10 billion apply to those whose negligence caused deaths.
The Ministry of Environment/BPLH had previously issued warnings regarding waste management conditions at TPST Bantargebang, which were assessed as high-risk.
On 2 March 2026, the Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement issued an Investigation Commencement Notice (SPDP) against several waste management sites deemed at risk, including TPST Bantargebang.
Earlier, the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in Jakarta reported that four people died in the waste collapse at TPST Bantargebang. The victims were warung owner Enda Widayanti, Sumine, and two waste truck drivers named Dedi Sutrisno and Irwan Suprihatin.