Environment Minister rates East Java best in waste management
East Java ranks first in our assessment of environmental management and waste handling.
Gresik, East Java (ANTARA) - Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat has rated East Java as the province with the best performance in environmental management, particularly waste handling, making it worthy of serving as a reference for other regions in Indonesia.
After inspecting SMA Negeri 1 Gresik, which holds the Adiwiyata Mandiri designation, in Gresik Regency on Wednesday, Jumhur said East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa had successfully managed the environment, especially with regard to waste issues.
“East Java ranks first in our assessment of environmental management and waste handling. This can serve as an example for other provinces that are still insufficiently serious and neglectful of this issue,” he said in Gresik on Wednesday.
Data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) of the Ministry of Environment, which serves as the basis for the 2026 evaluation, recorded that waste generation in East Java reaches approximately 12,314 tonnes per day, or more than eight million tonnes per year.
Meanwhile, an evaluation by the East Java Finance and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) showed that waste reduction at source through sorting and waste banks has only reached around 11 per cent, meaning community-based waste management still needs continued encouragement.
Jumhur explained that East Java’s success is inseparable from the regional government’s efforts to build public awareness of environmental conservation, including through the Adiwiyata Programme, which targets educational institutions.
According to him, the Adiwiyata Programme is an instrument of the Ministry of Environment to encourage schools to build an environmentally conscious culture through phased assessments up to the highest designation, namely Adiwiyata Mandiri.
“At SMA Negeri 1 Gresik, in our assessment the school falls into the highest category. They have succeeded in fostering environmental awareness and serve as an example for educational institutions throughout Indonesia,” he said.
Meanwhile, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said the East Java Provincial Government is also developing innovative schools based on food security to complement the implementation of the Adiwiyata Programme.
According to her, the concept of food security need not be applied on extensive land, but can be developed within the school environment through agriculture, livestock and fisheries involving students.
“We want this to become a pilot project. All land within educational institutions can be utilised, and the results can then be processed downstream into value-added products that can be marketed,” she said.
Before visiting SMA Negeri 1 Gresik, the Environment Minister also inspected the implementation of the Green and Smart Port Initiatives ASRI at Pier C of the Petrokimia Gresik Port, as part of efforts to promote sustainable environmental management practices in the industrial and port sectors.