Minister of Environment's Directive: Waste Sorting Must Be 100% Complete at the Sub-District Level

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Environment and Forestry/Head of the Environmental Control Agency (BPLH), Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, has emphasised that the transformation of national waste management must begin at the most basic level, namely the kelurahan.

This commitment was affirmed through the declaration of Semper Timur Kelurahan in North Jakarta as an area targeting 100% waste sorting at source.

Minister Hanif stressed that waste sorting is no longer merely an appeal but an obligation with a strong legal basis.

“Waste sorting is not a choice, but an obligation. This has been mandated in Law No. 18 of 2008. There is no longer room for waste handling without sorting, either individually or collectively,” he stated, quoted from an official statement on Friday (24/4/2026).

In the national context, the government targets a waste handling rate of 63.41% by 2026. As of April 2026, waste management achievement is recorded at around 26%, a significant increase from about 10% at the end of 2024.

According to Minister Hanif, this improvement is partly driven by the cessation of open dumping practices at around 30% of Final Processing Sites (TPA) across Indonesia.

The declaration in Semper Timur Kelurahan reaffirms North Jakarta’s commitment to 100% waste sorting, declared on 18 April 2026, as a follow-up to the President of the Republic of Indonesia’s directive in building an environmental culture that is Safe, Healthy, Clean, and Beautiful (ASRI).

For context, household waste generation in North Jakarta reaches about 719.61 tonnes per day, originating from more than 607,000 family heads.

With such a volume, source-based waste management becomes the most fundamental step to reduce the transportation burden to TPA.

In this context, the role of the kelurahan is crucial as the spearhead of community behavioural change. A community-based approach is deemed capable of driving more effective and sustainable waste management transformation.

Through this step, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry/BPLH emphasises that waste handling is not merely a technical issue, but a cultural change movement that must start from households, with waste sorting as its main foundation.