Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi Receives 2026 Waste Management Award
The Governor of Central Java, Ahmad Luthfi, received the 2026 Waste Management Performance Award from the Minister of Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency for the category of Best Initiator for Districts/Cities. The award was presented by the Minister of Environment, Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, during the 2026 National Coordination Meeting on Waste Management at the Balai Kartini Building, Jakarta, on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. This appreciation is given as a form of recognition for the commitment of the Central Java Provincial Government in strengthening waste management, including through the ‘Central Java Safe, Healthy, Clean & Beautiful’ (ASRI) program.
Ahmad Luthfi stated that the Central Java Provincial Government consistently requests waste management data from district/city governments as a basis for policy-making. He emphasized that the waste problem in his region has reached an emergency level and requires concrete action. “The waste problem in Central Java has reached an emergency level, so it requires concrete action. Waste in Central Java is almost 6.36 million tons per year. Only about 60% can be processed, and the rest have not been handled optimally. This must be a serious concern for all of us,” said Luthfi.
As a follow-up, the Central Java Provincial Government has launched the ‘Jateng ASRI’ movement and prepared several Integrated Waste Management Facilities (TPST) that are regional or agglomeration-based. The Head of the Environmental and Forestry Office of Central Java Province, Widi Hartanto, explained that various steps have been taken to improve the waste management system from upstream to downstream. One of them is through the issuance of a circular regarding waste management. “From upstream, it must be managed from households. It has been sorted for organic and inorganic waste,” he said while accompanying Ahmad Luthfi to attend the national coordination meeting.
In addition, the Central Java Provincial Government is also transforming waste management based on technology, including closing landfills with open dumping systems. Waste is encouraged to be used as electricity or industrial fuel. “Waste can be used as electricity, it can be used as industrial fuel. The acceleration that is being carried out is the closure of open dumping, the formation of waste management task forces from the province, districts/cities, to villages,” he explained. In the development of TPST, several regions have implemented the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) system, namely Banyumas, Cilacap, and Magelang Regency. Meanwhile, Kudus and Grobogan are starting to build small-scale TPSTs. This year, the Central Java Provincial Government proposed the construction of 14 additional TPSTs. Several other locations are still in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) before being submitted to the central government.
Exactly one year of the leadership of Governor Ahmad Luthfi and Vice Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen in Central Java on February 20, 2026, was marked by significant dynamics. The Governor of Central Java, Ahmad Luthfi, on Wednesday (December 24), announced the determination of the 2026 Central Java Provincial Minimum Wage (UMP) which increased by 7.28 percent and the 2026 District/City Minimum Wage (UMK). The Central Java Provincial Government facilitated the return of 100 residents from Central Java who were affected by the flood in the Sumatra region. The Governor of Central Java, Ahmad Luthfi, sent humanitarian aid worth Rp1.3 billion to support the acceleration of disaster response in the Sumatra region. The Central Java Provincial Government stated that as many as 25 investors from Malaysia are committed to investing worth Rp6.9 trillion in the region.