Environment Minister: Reduce Waste During Eid Holiday Travel
Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq has called upon the public undertaking Eid holiday travel (mudik) to reduce waste generation during their journey, following concerns about increasing waste accumulation at various transit points used by holiday travellers such as motorway service areas and bus terminals.
Hanif stated that the high mobility of the population during the mudik period has the potential to increase waste volumes in public spaces. Consequently, holiday travellers have been asked to begin the habit of reducing waste from the outset of their journey.
“Nationally, waste remains a problem for us. As much as possible, we must reduce waste generation in every activity,” he said in South Jakarta on Monday, 16 March.
He advised holiday travellers to bring special bags or containers to collect waste during their journey. In this manner, waste would not be immediately discarded at stopover points which frequently become overwhelmed with rubbish during the mudik period.
“If there is waste, just bring it along. Bring something like a rubbish bin in the car. Sort it out at home later,” he said.
According to him, this simple measure can help reduce waste accumulation at various locations that serve as stopover points for travellers during their journey.
Hanif disclosed that the government is also tightening supervision of waste management at several public facilities serving as mudik stopover points, including service areas and terminals. This measure is being implemented to ensure waste management functions more effectively during the Eid holiday exodus and return periods.
Beyond maintaining cleanliness, reducing waste during travel is also expected to help diminish the waste management burden on regions traversed by holiday travellers.
Hanif Faisol Nurofiq has also highlighted waste management at several bus terminals, which he assessed as still falling well short of environmental standards.
The National Traffic Corps (Korlantas) of the Indonesian National Police will implement a one-way system nationally on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
Based on police data, the rate of motorcycle accidents during Eid holiday travel has reached worrying levels at 75.9%.
On Monday (16 March) from 00:00 to 12:00 Western Indonesia Time, approximately 25,000 vehicles were recorded passing through the Cikopo motorway towards Cirebon, lower than the same period on Sunday (15 March).
The Head of Traffic Police for Tasikmalaya City Police, AKP Riki Kustiawan, stated that traffic flow on the national arterial route from West Java towards Central Java at the six-day pre-holiday mark (H-6) has yet to show volume increases.
The Ministry of Environment (KLH) estimates that total waste generated during the mudik period could reach approximately 71,960 tonnes.