Pekalongan City Government Prepares 5 Hectares of Land to Build Waste-to-Energy Plant

The Pekalongan City Government (Pemkot) in Central Java has prepared a plot of land for a Waste-to-Energy Processing Installation (PSEL) spanning five hectares as a regional solution for waste management, with full financing from investors and no reliance on the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD). Pekalongan Mayor Afzan Arslan Djunaid stated in Pekalongan on Tuesday that his administration has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) and the Central Java Provincial Government, along with agreements with the Batang, Pemalang, and Pekalongan Regency Governments regarding the PSEL construction. “The land we have prepared covers about five hectares around the Setono toll exit area. It even has the potential to expand to accommodate queues of waste-transporting trucks so as not to disrupt the roads,” he said. “Progress is ongoing at present. We are now able to reduce about 50 percent through decomposition, while the remainder we are pursuing at integrated waste processing sites or reduce, reuse, recycle waste processing sites,” he added. According to him, the current waste volume has reached around 1,000 tonnes per day, necessitating collaboration with the four regions. “We hope this effort can proceed smoothly in handling waste in these four regions, as the required waste volume reaches 1,000 tonnes per day,” he said. “Even though there is already an agreement and MoU, it does not mean people can freely dispose of waste indiscriminately; they must still sort waste at home because building the waste-to-energy processing facility will take about one to two years,” said Mayor Afzan. Currently, Pekalongan City Government has several waste processing facilities, such as the Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST) and 3R Waste Processing Sites. However, the existing waste processing capacity can only handle about 50 percent of the total waste generated. “Therefore, the presence of this PSEL is expected to serve as a long-term solution that not only reduces the waste burden but also produces electricity beneficial to the community,” he said.