Jakarta's Rp500,000 Waste-Burning Fine: Offenders Could Go Viral on Social Media

Wed, 04 Mar 2026, 21:06 WIB | By Gana Buana | Source: MEDIA_INDONESIA | Regulation

The Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov DKI Jakarta) has again issued a stern warning to residents of the capital regarding the ban on burning rubbish in open spaces. This action carries serious legal consequences, ranging from administrative fines to talk of social sanctions involving the publication of offenders’ faces on social media.

Head of the Pollution Control and Environmental Damage Division of the Jakarta Environment Agency (DLH), Erni Pelita Fitratunnisa, emphasised that the sanctions have a solid legal basis.

The ban is set out in Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 4 of 2019, amending Perda No. 3 of 2013 on Waste Management.

Under the regulation, everyone is prohibited from burning rubbish that does not meet the technical requirements for waste management. If found to have violated, authorised officers can impose administrative sanctions in the form of a maximum fine of Rp500,000.

In addition to monetary fines, the Jakarta Provincial Government is examining innovative approaches to deter offenders. The head of DLH Jakarta, Asep Kuswanto, disclosed plans to implement social sanctions for violators.

“We punish or sanction the community by viralling it; that would be social punishment. At the moment we are preparing a legal framework to avoid breaching privacy rights while still providing a deterrent effect,” Erni Pelita said during a media discussion in Jakarta, on Wednesday (4 March).

Open burning of rubbish in open areas accounts for around 14 percent of Jakarta’s total air pollution. This activity is a significant source of hazardous particulates PM2.5 and PM10, which can damage the respiratory system.

More concerning, burning plastic waste in densely populated areas emits toxic emissions that contaminate rainwater and soil via microplastic deposition. This threatens urban ecosystems and public health in the long term.

The public can report illegal rubbish burning activities through several official channels:

The Jakarta Provincial Government hopes that by combining education, monetary fines, and social sanctions, the practice of open burning can be curbed to realise cleaner air for Jakarta. (Z-10)

The social sanction of a community clean-up for public areas is imposed on offenders once it is confirmed that there is no criminal basis for prosecuting the incident.

Sekretaris Daerah Toba, Augus Sitorus, acknowledges that in every service provided by the Social Service there are inevitably some shortcomings.

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