Petamburan Sub-district Processes Household Organic Waste Using Teba Method
Petamburan Sub-district, located in the Tanah Abang district of Central Jakarta, has developed an innovation involving absorption holes and a system for processing household organic waste, known as ‘teba’, to reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills.
The Head of the Government Section of Petamburan Sub-district, Teuku Syauqan, stated that the creation of the teba is a follow-up to Governor’s Instruction Number 5 of 2026 regarding the Movement for Waste Sorting and Processing at the Source. “Consequently, organic waste from every block of the low-cost apartment flats (rusun) will be diverted to the teba,” Teuku said at the Petamburan Flats, Jakarta, on Monday.
He explained that the teba measures 2x7 metres with a depth of 2 metres. According to Teuku, the construction of the teba was carried out a few weeks ago through community deliberations at the RW (neighbourhood unit) level.
Furthermore, each RT/RW (community unit) is being directed to provide two 150-litre capacity composter bins in every RT to support organic waste processing. To reduce odours during the decomposition process, the waste inside the teba pit is mixed with an Effective Microorganisms 4 (EM4) solution and covered with a tarpaulin.
“The waste is left for three months to become compost, then removed. The resulting compost will be used for environmental greening within the Petamburan Sub-district, while any surplus will hold business value,” Teuku noted.
In addition to the teba, the authorities are also considering processing waste into compost using composting machines. Teuku believes that the use of composting machines could further support the waste sorting and processing process within the Petamburan area.
Meanwhile, the head of RT 2 RW 11, Sutarno, expressed appreciation for the creation of the teba by the Petamburan Sub-district and hopes for the provision of composting machines to support waste sorting in his area. “On behalf of the residents, I would like to thank the Tanah Abang District, specifically the Petamburan Sub-district, for their hard work in guiding us. We hope to obtain composting machines because the volume of waste is very large,” said Sutarno.