Jakarta Provincial Government: A New Chapter in Waste Management

The Provincial Government of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta has begun a fundamental change in its waste management system. Whereas for decades the approach was ‘collect-transport-dispose’, Jakarta is now shifting to a ‘sort-transport-process’ model. This marks the start of a transformation that not only changes how the Jakarta Provincial Government handles waste, but also demands behavioural change from the public as waste producers.

Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung said the system change is reinforced through Jakarta Governor Instruction No. 5 of 2026 concerning the Movement for Sorting and Processing Waste at Source. Jakarta took this initiative because from Saturday, 1 August 2026, the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Treatment Facility will only accept residual waste that can no longer be processed.

‘Previously it was collect-transport-dispose, now it becomes sort-transport-process,’ Pramono said while inspecting the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Waste Processing Site in Menteng Atas, South Jakarta, on Thursday, 30 July 2026.

According to Pramono, the change is part of the Jakarta Provincial Government’s strategy towards zero open dumping by 2029. Waste management cannot rely solely on final disposal sites. Waste needs to be reduced, sorted and processed from homes, residential areas and economic activity centres. ‘This is a concrete step to gradually stop open dumping practices towards the zero open dumping target in 2029,’ he said.

Head of the Jakarta Environmental Agency Dudi Gardesi said sorting at source is key to reducing the volume of waste ending up in Bantargebang. The majority of waste generation comes from households, while most of it still has the potential to be processed or recycled.

‘We want to invite the public to understand that sorting waste is no longer merely an option, but a shared necessity to save Jakarta from a waste emergency,’ Dudi said in May.

Sorting from home allows organic waste to be processed and inorganic waste to be recycled or to have economic value. Waste that truly cannot be utilised becomes residue. This pattern is expected to reduce the amount of waste that must be transported and buried in Bantargebang.

Changes upstream go hand in hand with improvements downstream. The Jakarta Provincial Government is gradually implementing a controlled landfill system at the Bantargebang facility. Disposal areas are covered using protective media and further reinforced with geomembrane. According to Dudi, the covering is done to reduce odour, control gas emissions and minimise leachate formation caused by rainwater entering waste piles.

In 2026, the Jakarta Provincial Government is targeting around 25 per cent of waste entering Bantargebang to be residue from processing. The target rises to 50 per cent in 2027 and 75 per cent in 2028. By 2029, all incoming waste is targeted to have gone through processing so that only residue remains. However, the change requires more than just improvements to disposal sites.

Dudi said increasing the capacity of processing facilities and changing public behaviour must go hand in hand. ‘The more waste that is sorted and processed before being sent to Bantargebang, the less waste that has to be buried,’ he said.

One example of processing at source is at the Menteng Atas Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Waste Processing Site in Setiabudi District, South Jakarta. The facility has an installed capacity of 25 tonnes of waste per day and can still be developed up to 132 tonnes per day. Currently, the facility only processes 6-8 tonnes of waste per day. Around 90 per cent of processed waste is targeted to become compost and refuse-derived fuel. The remaining 10 per cent becomes residue sent to Bantargebang.

The Jakarta Provincial Government records that there are 29 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Waste Processing Sites in Jakarta. However, the capacity utilisation rate of the facilities is only around 21 per cent. The government plans to increase their operations as part of the transition period before large-scale processing facilities, including waste-to-energy plants and refuse-derived fuel facilities, become fully operational.

The Jakarta Provincial Government has also prepared 40 hectares of land in Ciangir, Banten, managed by the Jakarta Environmental Agency, to support organic processing, including through maggot cultivation and other supporting activities. In addition, three waste-to-energy plants will be built, including in Bantargebang, Rorotan and Sunter, along with the development of refuse-derived fuel facilities in Rorotan and Bantargebang.

The waste sorting movement does not only target households. The Jakarta Provincial Government is also encouraging commercial areas, offices, hotels, restaurants and cafes to manage their waste independently. The reference is Governor Regulation No. 102 of 2021 concerning Waste Management Obligations in Areas and Companies.

In practice, many area managers and companies do not comply with the regulation and then carry out illegal waste disposal. In late July 2026, the Jakarta Provincial Government discovered waste dumping by a private party in public space in the Penjaringan area, North Jakarta. The government deployed fleets to clean the location and imposed sanctions on companies proven to have violated the rules.

In early August 2026, the Environmental Agency also imposed administrative sanctions on three people involved in illegal waste dumping in Kampung Dukuh, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta. They consisted of parties who received, transported and dumped waste on land not designated as a waste management site.

Under Governor Regulation No. 102 of 2021, area or company managers who fail to carry out waste management obligations may be subject to written warnings.