Managing Urban Waste: Strong Strategies and Leadership are Essential, Says Home Affairs Minister

The Minister of Home Affairs, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, has affirmed that managing waste in urban areas requires a strong upstream-to-downstream approach and firm leadership from local heads. Without both, waste accumulation in final processing sites (TPA) is unavoidable.

This was conveyed by Tito in a keynote speech at the National Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) on Waste Management 2026 at the Balai Kartini Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (25/2/2026).

Tito explained that the upstream-to-downstream approach is relatively effective in rural areas with strong social ties. However, in large cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, the downstream approach is a more realistic option.

In this context, the community generally only collects waste in bins or containers. The task of the local government (Pemda) is to ensure that the collection process is carried out quickly and consistently through a solid sanitation workforce and strict supervision.

Tito reminded that the success of this management is largely determined by the leadership of the local head in mobilizing and supervising their staff.

Tito cited the success of the sanitation workforce in Jakarta, which works from early morning, and the experience in Palembang, which has been able to keep the city clean due to effective supervision.

To strengthen operational control, he encouraged the use of technology such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) to monitor areas prone to waste accumulation, including blockages in rivers and densely populated areas.

With this system, the local head can immediately instruct the relevant staff to expedite the cleaning process.

According to Tito, without supervision and a disciplined system, the downstream approach will only shift the problem to the TPA and create large-scale waste piles.

In addition, he emphasized the importance of aligning regional programs with national policies in processing waste into energy. Local governments are asked to focus on building collection networks and preparing land, while the processing technology is aligned with central government policies.

Through this National Coordination Meeting, he affirmed that managing urban waste requires a disciplined system, consistent supervision, and responsive leadership so that the problem does not continue to repeat itself every year.