Carbon Sovereignty: A New Path for the People's Economy
The government’s vision that waste issues could be resolved at village or sub-district level has so far not yielded meaningful change. Piles of waste continue to grow, while the management pattern remains stuck in the old approach: collect, dispose of, then forget. Open dumping practices have proven no longer adequate, both ecologically and economically. As a result, waste management proceeds half-heartedly and loses sight of long-term ecological orientation.
The problem is that the ‘transport-and-dispose’ approach has created a new dependence on final disposal sites (TPA). The more waste is hauled, the higher the operational costs for local governments. Ironically, however, the capacity of TPAs has continued to fall, while social conflicts and environmental pollution have increased. Many TPAs have even become ecological ‘time bombs’: contaminating groundwater, producing methane gas, triggering fires, and lowering the health of nearby communities.
A 2024 report by the United Nations Environment Programme warns that the world must promptly turn rubbish into a resource, as the social-ecological costs of waste are projected to rise to hundreds of billions of dollars per year. In such a situation, Indonesia actually faces a paradox. On the one hand, the government allocates large budgets to tackle waste; on the other, the organic material that is discarded actually holds substantial economic value if processed properly. In other words, what is lost is not only environmental cleanliness, but also the economic potential of the people.
This essay starts from the intention to seize the economic opportunities of waste while affirming an ecological mission. Regulatorily, it is likewise feasible. As regulated in Presidential Regulation Number 98 of 2021 on Carbon Economic Value (NEK) and the carbon trading regulations issued by the Financial Services Authority, emission reductions are no longer only an environmental agenda but can also become a market-valued economic activity.
In other words, organic waste, long considered valueless, can be transformed into a source of energy, fertiliser, livestock feed, and even tradable carbon assets. In other words, waste that has always been a problem can actually be converted into a source of income for the people if managed correctly and modernly.
In various countries, the circular economy is becoming a new paradigm of development. The principle is simple: materials should not cease to be waste but should be continually rotated back into new resources. Therefore, organic waste is no longer viewed as final residues, but as raw materials for energy, fertiliser, biomass, and even carbon credits.
The United Nations Environment Programme, in its Global Waste Management Outlook 2024, states that the circular economy approach can generate net global economic gains of more than US$100 billion per year. Indonesia actually possesses substantial social and ecological capital to enter this circular economy. The national waste composition is dominated by household organic materials which are relatively easy to process.
Furthermore, the village structures and social community arrangements in Indonesia enable a governance system based on gotong royong to operate more effectively than in many other countries. The problem is not a lack of resources, but rather the absence of an economic design that can directly connect waste, simple technologies, and carbon market incentives to communities.
Therefore, it is now time for villages and sub-districts to take the initiative. Waste management should be regarded as a business opportunity for the people that can be undertaken by Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes), village cooperatives, or sub-district units through a double-income scheme: income from the physical processing of waste as well as from carbon trading.
From Waste to ‘Carbon Dividends’
This is where the strategic economic value of carbon lies. When a village or sub-district is able to process organic waste independently so it does not end up in the TPA, they are effectively reducing emissions that can be quantified and carry economic value.
In simple terms, residents sort household waste into organic and non-organic. Organic waste is then processed at a temporary storage site (TPS) under the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) scheme into compost, maggot feed, or biomass chips. Because the waste does not decay in the TPA, the methane emissions that would have arisen can be prevented. The value of emission prevention is then recorded as carbon units and traded through the carbon market mechanism.
The UN Environment Programme describes methane emission reductions as the ‘fastest and most cost-effective way to slow global warming in the short term’. In other words, one kilogram of organic waste has two values at once. The first value is physical value: it can become compost, maggot feed, or a biomass fuel. The second value is carbon value: the ecological benefit of emissions prevented.
This is what is referred to as the double-income scheme. If managed well, villages can not only reduce waste haulage costs but also obtain a new source of income. The profits could even become community dividends if the funding model involves citizen participation.
Moreover, this model can give rise to a new form of local economy. Village youths can work as processing operators, carbon data recorders, maggot handlers, and distributors of organic fertiliser. Thus, waste management is not merely a cleanliness activity but also a catalyst for green job creation at the grassroots level.
In the future, it would not be impossible for every household to have a ‘carbon account’ just as an electricity or water account. The more disciplined residents are in sorting and reducing waste.