Interior Minister Emphasises Strategy and Leadership in Waste Management

Urban waste management requires a strong downstream-upstream approach, accompanied by firm leadership from regional heads. Without both elements, waste accumulation at final processing sites (TPA) cannot be avoided.

This was affirmed by the Interior Minister (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian whilst delivering the keynote address at the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) on Waste Management 2026 at Balai Kartini Hall in Jakarta on Wednesday, 25 February.

“This sanitation workforce depends very much on the leadership of regional heads, their concern, their passion. Those without passion just don’t care,” Tito said.

Tito explained that an upstream-downstream approach is relatively effective in rural areas with strong social bonds. However, in major cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung, a downstream approach is a more realistic choice.

In this context, the public typically only collects waste in bins or temporary storage facilities. The task of regional governments (Pemda) is to ensure swift and consistent collection through a solid and well-managed sanitation workforce.

Tito then cited the success of Jakarta’s sanitation workforce, which operates from early morning, and the experience in Palembang, which has maintained city cleanliness through effective oversight.

To strengthen operational control, the Interior Minister encourages the use of technology such as closed circuit television (CCTV) to monitor high-risk waste points, including blockages in rivers and densely populated areas. With such a system, regional heads can quickly instruct their teams to accelerate cleaning operations.

According to Tito, without oversight and disciplined systems, a downstream approach will only shift the problem to final processing sites and create large-scale waste accumulation.

Additionally, he emphasised the importance of aligning regional programmes with national policy on waste-to-energy conversion. Regional governments are asked to focus on building collection networks and preparing land, whilst processing technology is aligned with central government policy.

“Regional governments should focus on building networks for collection, encouraging people to gather waste in bins, collect and transport it to designated locations. These locations, including land for incinerators and other facilities, should be prepared in cooperation with regional authorities,” he said.

At the Rakornas, the Interior Minister stressed that urban waste management requires system discipline, consistent oversight, and responsive leadership to prevent the problem from recurring annually.

Tito reminded attendees that the success of waste management is heavily determined by regional heads’ leadership in mobilising and overseeing their staff.