Kuningan Environment Agency Develops Village-Level Independent Waste Management
Kuningan (ANTARA) – The Kuningan Regency Environment Agency (DLH) in West Java is developing independent waste management at village level to reduce the volume of rubbish sent to landfill.
DLH head Usep Sumirat said in Kuningan on Monday that nearly 12 villages had begun implementing the initiative.
“Village-based waste management is one way to address the limited capacity of landfill sites while building communities’ independence in handling waste,” he said.
He explained that the number of villages managing their waste independently was continuing to grow through inter-village cooperation and the shared use of processing facilities.
The collaborative approach enables villages to manage waste without having to build their own facilities, while also reducing the amount that must be transported to landfill, he said.
“When villages are able to manage their own waste, that is certainly what we hope for. As long as waste can be dealt with at source and is not left to pollute the environment, village self-sufficiency should continue to be supported,” he said.
Usep said community involvement was crucial, particularly household waste sorting, so that handling could begin before rubbish was taken to processing facilities.
Alongside expanding village waste management, the agency is preparing to make greater use of methane gas generated by waste at the Ciniru landfill as an alternative energy source for nearby residents, he said.
He said the methane had previously been trialled in around 50 households, but further expansion required adjustments to the installations and pipeline network.
The agency is seeking support through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes to develop the service, with a target of about 450 households around the landfill.
“The methane currently available is also used for basic needs by staff at the landfill, while plans are being prepared to expand the distribution network,” he said.
The Kuningan Regency Environment Agency also plans to develop the landfill into an integrated waste-processing facility using refuse-derived fuel (RDF), as well as build a facility based on the reduce, reuse and recycle (3R) principles, known locally as a TPS 3R Plus.
He said the waste-management efforts were being pursued alongside Kuningan Regency’s 2025 Environmental Quality Index score of 75.50, above its target of 68.18, supported in part by land-cover conditions and community participation.
“Under these plans, waste will first be reduced, sorted and processed, while material that meets the requirements can be converted into RDF for use as an alternative fuel in industry,” he said.