Khofifah Receives 2026 Best Waste Management Award from Environment Minister

East Java Province has once again achieved recognition in national-level waste management. Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa received the 2026 Waste Management Performance Award as Best Supervisor of Regencies/Cities.

The award was presented by the Minister of Environment and the Indonesian State Environmental Control Agency Hanif Faisol Nurofiq during the 2026 National Waste Management Coordination Meeting at Balai Kartini, Jakarta, on Wednesday (25 February).

East Java’s achievement was supported by 13 certificates from a total of 35 national certificates across two categories: 1 Best City certificate and 12 Towards Clean City certificates. This number is the highest compared to other provinces.

Khofifah emphasised that the award represents the results of consistent, systematic, and hierarchical guidance at the regency and city levels. She noted that waste management is not merely a technical matter of cleanliness, but part of environmental civilisation transformation.

According to her, the system built must be integrated from upstream to downstream, based on circular economy, and have tangible impact on public quality of life.

“Alhamdulillah, East Java has recorded the highest national achievement in the number of regencies and cities moving towards clean cities,” she stated in a written statement on Wednesday (25 February 2026).

Khofifah detailed the 13 areas receiving certificates in 2026. Surabaya City achieved the best city status, whilst 12 other regencies and cities received Towards Clean City Certificates, namely Malang City, Sidoarjo Regency, Gresik Regency, Madiun Regency, Jombang Regency, Malang Regency, Situbondo Regency, Magetan Regency, Pamekasan Regency, Probolinggo City, Lumajang Regency, and Blitar City.

In the national award structure, Surabaya is listed as Best City I. The city surpassed Balikpapan as Best City II, as well as Ciamis Regency which achieved Best Regency status.

The East Java Provincial Government also emphasised the provincial government’s role as a bridge between national policy and technical implementation in regencies and cities, as regulated in Law No. 18 of 2008 and Government Regulation No. 81 of 2012. This role includes coordination and guidance, regional waste management, as well as regulatory and supervisory functions.

In practice, the East Java Provincial Government implements strengthening of regional policies, facilitation of waste reduction plans, technical assistance for 3R waste transfer centres and temporary disposal sites, and periodic evaluation of waste management performance in regencies and cities.

This became the basis for awarding Khofifah the 2026 Waste Management Performance Award as Best Supervisor of Regencies/Cities.

It is noted that only five regional heads received similar awards. Besides East Java, other recipients were the Governor of South Sulawesi, Governor of South Kalimantan, Governor of West Sumatra, and Governor of Central Java.

“The effort of the East Java Provincial Government in promoting waste reduction continues to be carried out through strengthening sorting education at the household level, optimisation of waste transfer centres and disposal sites in various regencies and cities,” she emphasised.

Khofifah stressed that waste management guidance is carried out effectively with the provincial government serving as a bridge for synergy between the centre and regencies and cities. Support is provided through technical assistance, policy support, and strengthening of regional capacity.

She added that the movement towards clean cities must become a shared culture. The target is to significantly reduce waste residue going to landfills by strengthening the circular economy, increasing the capacity of waste banks, and promoting environmental-friendly waste treatment technology innovations.

“East Java is ready to become a national reference in sustainable waste management,” stated Governor Khofifah.

The award simultaneously affirmed East Java’s position as the province with the best waste management guidance performance nationally in 2026.

Going forward, the East Java Provincial Government stated it would encourage more areas to improve waste management standards to become more sustainable, innovative, and impactful on environmental quality and regional competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Hanif stated that the 2026 National Waste Management Coordination Meeting held in conjunction with the National Waste Care Day (HPSN) became momentum to accelerate the resolution of Indonesia’s waste problems.

“HPSN 2026 is not merely a ceremony, but a turning point in changing the paradigm from a collect-transport-dispose system towards management based on the 3Rs and circular economy,” he said.

Hanif stressed that this transformation is mandated by Law No. 18 of 2008 and part of the Indonesia ASRI Movement which emphasises behaviour change from the source as well as cross-sectoral collaboration.

He also presented assessment results, with 35 regions entering the Towards Clean Regency/City Certificate category with the best values achieved by Surabaya (74.92), Ciamis (74.68), and Balikpapan (74.55), whilst 253 regions are under guidance and 132 regions under supervision.

“We ask all regional heads to make serious commitments to improve waste management governance comprehensively from upstream to downstream,” he stressed.

The event was also attended by the Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, the Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian, the Minister of Population and Family Development/Head of the National Population and Family Planning Board Wihaji, and the Deputy Minister for Villages and Regional Development.