Jakarta warns that careless waste burning can incur a Rp500,000 fine.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov) reminded residents of the capital that burning waste indiscriminately can attract a Rp500,000 fine. The sanction is set out in Regional Regulation No. 4 of 2019 on Waste Management, said Erni Pelita Fitratunnisa, head of the Pollution Control and Environmental Damage Division at the Jakarta Environment Agency (DLH). ‘Waste is one of the sources of air pollution, especially when waste burning is uncontrolled. The sanction is Rp500,000,’ she told a media discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday. She added that air pollution control is not the responsibility of the government alone at central and provincial levels, but also of the public, including enforcement of the law. ‘If there is no enforcement of the law, it will be very difficult,’ she said. Since the regulation was issued, the DKI Provincial Government has continued to educate the public about the harmful impacts of burning waste indiscriminately and the sanctions for perpetrators. ‘Punishing or sanctioning the public by virally circulating it is social punishment; there must be legal grounds. This is what we must also prepare,’ she said. In a separate interview, Asep Kuswanto, head of the Jakarta Environment Agency (DLH), said the provincial government continues to seek innovative approaches to curb the habit of burning waste, which has proven to be a major source of urban air pollution and the release of microplastic particles into the environment. He said burning plastic waste in densely populated areas produces toxic emissions that residents breathe, while also contaminating rainwater and soil through microplastic deposition, threatening public health and urban ecosystems. Open burning of waste is known to contribute around 14 percent of total air pollution. This activity is a significant source, particularly of the hazardous particulates PM2.5 and PM10.