BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
NO TIME TO WASTE:
INDONESIA’S GARBAGE PROBLEM
THURSDAY, 09 JULY 2015
N
early a quarter of Indonesians
surveyed in a recent poll by
online polling and survey
agency YouGov said waste management
is the most prominent environmental
issue in the country and about two
thirds did not believe the government
was ready to implement technology to
address environmental concerns.
The results of the survey came as
Environment and Forestry Minister
Siti Nurbaya Bakar on June 23 said
household waste in the country had
reached an alarming level due, in part,
to the lack of infrastructure and poor
environmental awareness.
According to the ministry, the amount
of household waste generated
nationwide has increased to 175,000
tons each day or around 64 million
tons per year. The ministry previously
predicted that waste in major urban
centers in Indonesia increases by 2%
to 4% annually.
The igure is equivalent to around 256
kg of waste per person each year or less
than half of what the US (760 kg) or
Australia (690 kg) produces, but unlike
these countries, only a small percentage
of solid waste in Indonesia is adequately
processed. According to various
estimates around 50% of Indonesia’s
households dispose of waste directly to
water bodies, including rivers, and the
remainder is mostly burned or buried
at open dumpsites and non-sanitary
land ills.
The problem is noticeably worse in
urban areas. Around 37% of the waste
generated in Indonesia originates in the
country’s 30 biggest cities, according
29 / INA MAGAZINE
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
to igures by the Indonesia Solid
Waste Association (InSWA). In Jakarta,
according to a separate 2013
study, residents produce around 481
kg of solid waste per person each
year, around the same as developed
countries like Spain or France.
health of residents and even security
stability. According to the Environment
and Forestry Ministry, domestic waste
contributes to around 80% of pollution
in rivers nationwide. Most of this waste
is human feces but a signi icant part is
household solid waste.
closed substandard land ills, can
also be harmful to humans and the
environment. The release of hazardous
and non-hazardous components of
leachate may render a drinking-water
aquifer unusable and its iltration into
groundwater can damage crops.
Yet, despite competing with developed
nations for materialistic abundance,
Jakarta has one of the least developed
and unsustainable solid waste
management systems out of any major
city – a paradox that its governor,
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, appeared to
include in a colorful statement on July
1: “(Jakarta has been planned) like
it wants to defecate, then it builds a
toilet.”
Most studies on the environmental
impacts of plastic solid waste focus
Land ills can be built to prevent the
leakage of leachate but in Indonesia
few are reportedly equipped with such
features.
The enormous Bantar
Gebang waste dump in
Bekasi regency provides
an excellent example of
the impact of leachate
despite the existence
of some preventive
measures. The landfill
was constructed in
1986 with a total area of
108 hectares and more
than 6,000 tons of solid
waste is dumped there
every day. Upgrades
over the past decade,
including some funded
by the World Bank,
have helped channel
and contain some
of the leachate for
methane-to-electricity
generation, but the site
remains problematic.
The enormous Bantar Gebang waste
dump in Bekasi regency provides an
excellent example of the impact of
leachate despite the existence of some
preventive measures. The land ill was
constructed in 1986 with a total area of
108 hectares and more than 6,000 tons
of solid waste is dumped there every
day. Upgrades over the past decade,
including some funded by the World
Bank, have helped channel and contain
some of the leachate for methane-toelectricity generation, but the site
remains problematic.
Indeed, Jakarta and most cities
around the country are ill-prepared to
adequately collect, separate and discard
or reuse solid waste, particularly as its
composition shifts to become more
varied.
According to igures from the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP),
around 74% of solid waste in Indonesia
in 2001 was biodegradable, 10% paper,
8% plastic and 4% glass and metal. Yet
by 2008 plastic had nearly doubled to
14% and, according to Bakar, reached
50% this year.
A small part of non-biodegradable
materials is occasionally recycled by
waste pickers scavenging through
streets and dumpsites. According to a
2014 study by Japanese researchers
Shunsuke Sasaki and Tetsuya Araki, the
recycling rate of solid waste collected
by all scavengers at the Bantar Gebang
trash dump in Bekasi regency, West
Java, was estimated to be in the range
of 2.8% to 7.5% of all solid waste
transported to the site, signi icantly
lower than the level of recyclable waste
transported there.
Local repercussions
Besides an unpleasant smell and
sanitary hazards, uncollected or
inadequately treated solid waste can
negatively affect local economies, the
30 / 3rd ISSUE July - September 2015
on oceans and see rivers as mere
carriers of these materials. However,
plastic from household waste can also
have a negative effect on rivers, with
polyethylene particles swallowed
and accumulated in ish for human
consumption.
Land ill leachate, the run-off water
that occurs from operational or
A 2011 study by E.R. Pujiindiyati to
trace leachate movement in the land ill
using radioactive substances showed
that the nearby Cibitung River had
been polluted by leachate despite the
measures to stop it doing so. Residents
near the land ill were reported to suffer
diseases such as dental caries, skin
infections, anemia, acute respiratory
infections and dysentery that might be
the result of land ill activity, according
to the study.
While a direct connection had yet to be
established, many residents feared that
such effects could be a consequence of
leachate and other land ill pollutants.
Bantar Gebang is also clouded
by con licted interests, another
consequence of ill-planned waste
management systems in Indonesia.
Residents in the vicinity are both
dependent on the land ill for income
(as scavengers or middlemen for
collected plastic) and distressed by its
environmental effects, particularly the
smell of garbage.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
This duality has been the basis for
disagreements between the authorities
in Bekasi and Jakarta and residents.
In 2009, a plan to build a system of
conveyor belts at the site to separate
and recycle some of the non-organic
garbage was rejected by scavengers,
who feared losing their income. The
plan was dropped after hundreds
of scavengers protested outside the
Jakarta City Hall.
More recently, the Bekasi administration
in February demanded a higher tipping
fee from the Jakarta administration to
compensate for having to put up with
the land ill’s presence. The move has
been rejected by Governor Basuki
Tjahaja Purnama, who has accused
the Bekasi government of extortion, as
Bantar Gebang is owned and managed
by the Jakarta administration.
These experiences can also motivate
opposition to new waste treatment
initiatives in other areas. In one such
case in Bogor, West Java, several people
were injured in a protest in November
last year against the construction of
the Bojong Integrated Waste Disposal
Processing Plant (TPST), a new land ill
in Serang regency.
Global repercussions
As one of the most populous developing
countries on earth, Indonesia is also
one of its main polluters. Inaction on
waste pollution may not only cause
irreversible damage to the local
environment and livelihoods, but also
affect other countries and damage
shared oceans.
Methane gas, of which land ills are
thought to be a major source, is believed
to be responsible for approximately
20% of the recent increase in global
warming and worldwide waste
disposal accounts for more than 12%
of anthropogenic (originating from
human activity) methane, which makes
waste disposal the fourth largest source
of non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas.
Based on the US Environmental
Protection Agency’s ‘Global
Anthropogenic Emissions of Non-CO2
Greenhouse Gases’ report, in 2010
Indonesia’s estimated anthropogenic
methane emissions ranked seventh in
the world. While rice cultivation is the
country’s largest source of methane
emissions, approximately 44% of its
anthropogenic methane emissions
came from other sources, including
municipal solid waste.
In Bantar Gebang, methane emissions
exceed 25,000 tons per year, according
to environmental solutions provider
The Carbon Neutral Company,
equivalent to more than half a million
tons of CO2 or the emissions of 105,000
private cars over an entire year.
Burned garbage is also an issue, although
one dif icult to measure. Atmospheric
scientist Christine Wiedinmyer from
the US National Center for Atmospheric
Research estimates that around 40% of
the world’s garbage is burned in open
piles. An estimated 40% to 50% of the
garbage is made up of carbon by mass,
which means that CO2 is the major gas
emitted by trash burning.
Emissions from garbage-burning are
dwarfed by other sources on the global
scale, such as cars and power plants,
amounting to just 5% of total global
CO2 emissions. However, the CO2 that
comes from burning trash can be a
signi icant source in some countries
and regions, and is not re lected in the
of icial greenhouse gas inventories for
those places.
Indonesia is likely to be one such
country and the continuation of this
widespread practice could reveal a
new subject of scrutiny for Indonesia,
which is already plagued by other
environmental issues.
The curse of plastic
By far the biggest global repercussion
31 / INA MAGAZINE
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
waste management solutions, not least
in Indonesia. Surveys conducted on this
matter offer a mix of attitudes among
Indonesians.
According to a 2011 survey by Tokyobased pollster AIP, Indonesians were
the second-most environmentally
concerned residents out of 12
countries in Asia. As many as 90%
of 320 Indonesian respondents said
they are concerned about the various
environmental problems in the world,
far more than Singapore (66%) or
Japan (40%).
Yet, when it came to willingness to give
up daily conveniences and richness to
preserve the environment, around 52%
of Indonesians surveyed said they were
not willing to. Around 48% of the total
solid waste in Indonesia originates in
households.
of Indonesia’s poor solid waste
management is plastic in oceans.
According to the report ‘Plastic waste
inputs from land into the ocean’
published in the journal Science in
February, Indonesia is the second
largest source behind China of plastic
reaching the oceans, including plastic
bottles, bags and other detritus washed
out to sea, including through rivers.
People living along the coast in
Indonesia generated about 3.22 million
tons of mismanaged plastic waste in
2010, about 10% of the world total.
Of that, between 0.48 million and 1.29
million metric tons ended up as marine
waste, the researchers estimated.
Once plastic reaches the oceans it forms
loating waste, washes up on coastlines
and accumulates on sea loors. Larger
items can entangle sea mammals and
small pieces are eaten by ish, turtles
32 / 3rd ISSUE July - September 2015
and seabirds. Over time, the material
breaks down into small particles
that can be ingested by small marine
animals.
This kind of pollution is extremely
dif icult to remove from the
environment or trace back to its source
but knowledge of Indonesia’s estimated
contribution could make the country an
obvious target for those affected such
as ishing communities.
These issues will keep gaining notoriety
as their causes become a heavier
burden on the environment, with some
estimates expecting plastic in oceans to
double by 2025 and natural disasters
linked to global warming set to become
more common.
Taking responsibility
Fostering environmental consciousness
is often said to be the cornerstone of
This is also re lected in a 2012 study
by Japanese and Dutch researchers
titled ‘Inorganic and hazardous solid
waste management: Current status and
challenges for Indonesia.’ The study,
which measures the composition of
household waste in Jakarta, presents a
group of residents with the question on
whether they usually sort organic and
inorganic waste at home.
The majority (81%) responded that
they do not separate their household
waste and 91% dispose of hazardous
waste together with other household
waste.
However, the issue of proper waste
management is not just a household
task but a shared responsibility
that includes businesses and the
government.
Addressing the role of government,
according to the UN’s Center for
Regional Development (UNCRD),
coverage of solid waste collection
service in Indonesian cities is about
70% but more than 90% of inal
disposal is in open dumps without
prior waste-sorting.
These igures are worse in non-urban
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
years old and over a hundred out of
service.
This situation has been caused by
years of underinvestment, graft-rigged
procurement projects and neglect.
The consequence is that garbage in
many collection points, particularly
in low-income areas, is not frequently
collected, allegedly due to many drivers
moonlighting as garbage collectors for
private parties. Governor Purnama has
vowed to install GPS trackers on newly
procured trucks to avoid this.
areas, where a lack of collection
services mean waste is either burned,
disposed of in local dumps or tipped
into the sea or rivers. According to
the Indonesia Solid Waste Association
(InSWA), only 48% of the population in
Sumatra is covered by municipal solid
waste (MSW) services, 59% in Java,
47% in Bali and Nusa Tenggara, 46%
in Kalimantan and 68% in Sulawesi and
Papua.
authorities is “conducted through
sorting, collection, transportation,
treatment and inal disposal of waste.”
Sorting, as referred to in Article 4, is
done by “the separation of household
waste in accordance with the type of
waste” and by the provision of “facilities
to enable organic and inorganic
waste separation” in each household,
residential areas and commercial areas,
among others.
Most experts agree that Indonesia
has the required legal mechanisms to
minimize, collect and process waste
but implementation leaves much to be
desired.
Meanwhile, Regulation No. 21/2006
provides strategies related to household
inorganic and hazardous waste, with
the irst strategy being “to increase the
understanding of society to implement
3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).”
The main laws in Indonesia regulating
household solid waste management
are Law No. 18/2008 concerning
household solid waste management,
which includes some hazardous and
toxic materials, and Law No. 32/2009
concerning environmental protection
and management.
Other relevant ministerial regulations
are No. 33/2010 of the Home Affairs
Ministry on guidelines for waste
management and No. 21/2006 of the
Public Works Ministry.
Article 4 in the irst regulation states
that the management of waste by local
The tenets of these regulations
match the global environmental
consensus for adequate solid
waste management practices, yet a
combination of mismanagement by local
administrations, poor implementation
and neglect have limited their impact.
Jakarta is a case in point. While there
are varying estimates for the number of
garbage trucks operating in the capital,
the most generous igure is around 850,
similar to a city like Los Angeles, which
has a considerably smaller population.
Yet Jakarta’s leet is reportedly in a dire
state, with 70% of units more than 15
Finally, the third party responsible
for increasing household waste is
the producers of consumer goods.
Almost every product in Indonesian
supermarkets is packaged in plastic
and bagged or double-bagged in
plastic. Unsafe tap water for human
consumption also means that water
has to be delivered in plastic bottles
while popular roadside takeaway food
stalls often wrap their goods in plastic
containers and bags together with
plastic cutlery.
Extended producer responsibility,
or EPR, is written into Indonesia’s
waste management laws to require
manufacturers to inance the safe
disposal or recycling of such nonbiodegradable products, yet this
remains a voluntary strategy few
companies adhere to and there is no
clear roadmap to follow.
The few consumer goods companies
in Indonesia observing EPR are
mostly multinationals such as CocaCola Amatil Indonesia or Danone
Aqua, which through their Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) programs
have provided social empowerment
for scavengers in places like Bali and
Bandung in West Java.
Quick ϐixes?
The enforcement of unimplemented
regulations requires clear roadmaps,
empowered monitoring agencies and
public scrutiny – solutions applicable
to many of Indonesia’s problems. Yet,
unlike other environmental issues,
municipal solid waste management
33 / INA MAGAZINE
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
can be improved through mid- to shortterm goals such as turning it into a
pro itable business and facilitating the
work of existing collectors.
Should they decide to do so, funds
would need to come from infrastructure
budgets or the often-de icient garbage
collection budget.
Currently, only two methane plants
generate electricity from waste in
Indonesia: Suwung in Denpasar, Bali,
and Bantar Gebang in Bekasi, with a
combined capacity of 14.5 MW. No
waste incinerators are currently in
operation in Indonesia. By comparison,
Singapore reportedly produces over 78
MW from four garbage incinerators.
Another initiative easily implemented
is locally-ran waste banks, in which
households separate their waste
into different containers and then
deposit non-organic solid waste at a
collection point in their neighborhood
in exchange for money that can be
kept in an account at the waste bank
or withdrawn
As of last year, seven incinerators and
methane plants were being planned in
Indonesia with investments ranging
from Rp30 billion to Rp625 billion for
each plant.
According to the Environment
Ministry, as of 2013, 55 municipalities
and regencies in 17 provinces were
operating around 1,136 waste banks
where local residents could easily
deposit and separate their garbage,
producing around Rp15 billion monthly
in income from sales of recyclable
materials.
Incinerators also present an
opportunity to increase recycling
rates and reduce the solid mass of the
original waste by between 80% and
85% and the volume by between 95%
and 96%, depending on composition.
This means that while incineration
does not completely replace land ills,
it signi icantly reduces the volume for
disposal.
Local organizations such as InSWA
and international agencies such as the
World Bank support these projects and
report positive results.
Conclusion
The impression that poor waste
management in Indonesia is
endemic and the direct cause of poor
environmental consciousness is not
entirely correct. While Indonesia
has a long way to go in educating
citizens to respect the environment,
lack of convenient public services
and their reliability also discourages
participation.
As the country’s purchasing power and
middle class grow, consumer habits
will increasingly resemble those of
developed countries. It is imperative
that trends in manufacturing and
distribution of goods begin to
incorporate EPR considerations.
As surveys show, Indonesians are
concerned about the environment and
aware of the need to correct waste
mismanagement and will likely support
convenient initiatives that provide
social rewards.
For more information please check:
www.concordreview.com
However, InSWA points out several
impediments for these and other
projects to develop. It says waste-toenergy (WtE) is often perceived as an
opportunity by local governments for
increasing tipping fees, presumably
under the expectation that electricity
companies will be pro iting from it,
producing an non-conducive situation
between private operators and local
administrations.
When projects are in public-private
partnerships (PPP) or solely publicly
funded, they are hampered by
unclear institutional leadership,
with the Environment and Forestry
Ministry, Public Works and Housing
Ministry and the Energy and Mineral
Resources Ministry sharing authority.
Additionally, InSWA says small local
governments cannot often afford to
conduct feasibility studies or obtain
funding for the plants in many cases.
34 / 3rd ISSUE July - September 2015
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