MPR Deputy Compares Bantargebang Waste Collapse to 17-Storey Building Height
Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) from the Prosperous Justice Party (PAN), Eddy Soeparno, has responded to a waste landslide at the Bantargebang Final Disposal Site (TPST) in Bekasi City, West Java, which has claimed four lives. Eddy Soeparno stated that the waste pile at Bantargebang requires serious handling.
“I extend my condolences to the workers at Bantargebang who have died buried under the waste pile,” Eddy Soeparno told journalists on Monday (9 March 2026).
Eddy assessed the waste pile at Bantargebang to be the height of a 17-storey building. He described this as a serious problem that endangers surrounding residents.
“If Bantargebang is compared to a building, it is a 17-storey building, level 17, so the waste pile is indeed extremely high and therefore dangerous both from the possibility of landslides and from the methane gas it produces, which can be very prone to catching fire,” he said.
Eddy believes waste management in Indonesia has reached an emergency phase. The majority of waste comprises food scraps and plastic waste.
“However, this represents the state of our waste crisis, which has entered an emergency phase. The government has therefore issued Presidential Regulation 109 of 2025 for waste management through burning waste into electricity or renewable energy, the Waste-to-Energy Power Plant (PSEL),” he said.
Nevertheless, Eddy noted that PSEL requires 18 months to two years to become operational. Therefore, temporary measures must be in place for waste management in Indonesia.
“For this reason, temporary measures must be implemented for waste handling. These include providing land for temporary storage. Inevitably, waste will continue to be produced and land is needed to store it,” said Eddy.
“As done by the Bandung City Government by renting land in West Bandung Regency to place waste temporarily whilst an incinerator or waste-to-energy power plant is being built,” he added.
The Commission XII member of the House of Representatives stated that there must be progressive action against those who dump waste indiscriminately. For now, the public is asked to sort waste independently to reduce the pile at the final disposal site.
“This is a downstream solution. We also need upstream handling. The upstream side needs to be addressed by providing education and capacity building to the public so they perform waste sorting, utilise waste banks to process waste better,” said Eddy.
“In addition, there must also be law enforcement, especially against those who carry out illegal waste disposal and then do not manage waste regularly,” he added.
Previously, the waste landslide at Bantargebang TPST in Bekasi City, West Java, resulted in four deaths. Police estimate there are 10 victims buried.
“Based on preliminary data, the estimated number of victims is approximately 10 people, consisting of five garbage truck drivers and five residents around the area who work as waste pickers,” said Metro Bekasi City Police Chief Senior Commissioner Kusumo in his statement on Monday (9 March).