Deputy Interior Minister Urges Local Governments to Seriously Support Waste-to-Energy Programme

Tangerang (ANTARA) - Deputy Interior Minister Bima Arya has emphasised the importance of the seriousness of local governments (Pemda) in supporting the implementation of the waste-to-energy electricity (PSEL) development programme.

Bima stated that this programme represents a crucial and strategic step in addressing waste issues occurring in several regions of Indonesia.

“This means that regional heads (Regents) and departments have a joint task with village heads and sub-district heads to ensure how the upstream management is handled. Do not let problems arise later, such as only sending plastic or having only organic waste there,” Bima said during the presentation of material at the Sustainable Aglo-City Summit 2026 Discussion in Tangerang on Wednesday.

“PSEL works if there is a lot of dry, non-organic waste. If it’s organic, it’s a bit problematic,” he said.

Bima encouraged local governments planning to utilise PSEL to start seeking waste management patterns in the community, including efforts to reduce moisture content in organic waste.

“At the upstream level, this needs to be conditioned as well, dried, and so on. Now, what kind of technology is needed so that when processed, it matures,” he explained.

Therefore, the central government will push for the acceleration of PSEL project implementation, particularly for regions in the early development stage.

“If by next week the land issue is not resolved, we will take it over. That’s what I mean by sectoral earlier,” he said.