Rethinking Waste: Jakarta’s Journey to 100% Waste Control by 2026

Written by: Raoul Pandeirot and Ester Sorya Rifinka Sitinjak

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The Jakarta Environmental Service has set out an ambitious target to achieve a 100% waste management program as one of the main performance priorities for 2026. They aim to process or treat 70% of the waste through formal waste management systems, while reducing the generation of the remaining 30% at the source through prevention and reduction strategies. Jakarta Environmental Services objective approach to this goal centers around community involvement, eco-friendly waste treatment, and future technological innovation. Their main strategies include sorting waste at the source, cutting down on plastic use, supporting local waste management in homes and markets, improving waste transport and landfill facilities, and installing waste filters at Jakarta’s borders.

This initiative from the Jakarta Environmental Service will greatly impact the urban development and sustainability of the city’s vital environmental infrastructure, for it will directly affect the efficiency of waste management, help reduce pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and preserve ecosystems. Encouraging public participation will empower civilian awareness, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility. By tackling this long-overdue issue, the city can address its crisis of natural disaster damages and public health emergencies caused by unmanaged waste, as well as the economic benefits (jobs, income from waste banks, and lower cleanup costs) that can be gained from increased waste banks and Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) production, which will open up more job opportunities. 

A Presidential Regulation has already been issued to enforce this aspiration, which is regulated under No. 97 of 2017 on the National Policy and Strategy for Household Waste Management. This regulation sets the national target of reducing waste by 30% and managing 70% from 2017 to 2025, aligning with Jakarta’s 2026 by setting clear benchmarks for waste reduction and management that is meant to be built upon. Supporting laws that provide the legal framework for waste reduction, handling, and final processing are governed by Government Regulation No. 81 of 2012 on Management of Household Waste and Similar Types. This law outlines the technical implementation of sorting, collecting, transporting, and final processing of waste, as well as Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management, which emphasizes the regulations on the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) as well as community participation. 

Jakarta's waste management goals face several obstacles, as public participation in environmental consciousness remains low across both urban and rural areas. This is especially true, considering factors such as overburdened landfills and the underdeveloped sustainable alternatives like RDF or Solar Power Plants face constant delays because not all cities or regions have the means to facilitate composting, recycling, RDF, or waste-to-energy technologies. Gaps often exist between local implementation and national policy due to budgeting, capacity, or coordination issues. Despite these challenges, Jakarta’s efforts still have significant potential for positive change. The push for waste banks, recycling, and community involvement may lead to economic growth by creating new job opportunities and reducing reliance on landfills. These efforts also open the door to international collaboration, potentially attracting support from foreign governments, environmental NGOs, and allowing international donors to help fund and implement Indonesia’s waste management transformation.

The regulation of waste in the international domain is not governed by a single comprehensive agreement, but rather consists of a number of treaties, guidelines, and soft law instruments developed by the United Nations and other international bodies. These provisions emphasize waste reduction, ecosystem management, and the development of effective measures to protect both people and the environment in a sustainable manner. These instruments seek to establish legal obligations in order to have states focus on their impact on handling pollution and reduce any possible health risks associated with the regulation of waste.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989), for example, is an international treaty to which Indonesia is a party to. It aims to protect human health and safeguard the environment from potential dangers posed by hazardous waste by regulating its cross-border movement. While the Basel Convention does not apply to the domestic movement of waste, it does influence how Indonesia manages waste that is exported and imported, as well as establishing Indonesia’s principles on environmentally sound management of waste.

Among international provisions, Indonesia is also a party to the Stockholm and Minamata Conventions. Both conventions regulate specific types of hazardous waste, with the Stockholm and Minamata conventions addressing persistent organic pollutants and mercury, respectively. These conventions explicitly require countries to safely collect and dispose of these hazardous materials, as well as develop infrastructure, to ensure the continued practice of doing so. Jakarta’s designated 100% waste management would be subject to these provisions, as any waste intended to be handled that falls under either persistent organic pollutants or mercury must comply with the aforementioned Stockholm and Minamata treaties.

These conventions were facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme  (UNEP), and as a member of the United Nations, it benefits from this support. Indonesia’s ratification of the provisions by the UNEP demonstrates the state’s willingness to comply with the international community’s efforts to manage waste effectively. The partnership between the two emphasizes Indonesia’s commitment to align national policies with international standards, which is reflected again in the city of Jakarta’s domestic plan to achieve 100% waste management by 2026.

While these are Indonesia’s commitments on an international level, the state also has multiple national-level goals which are outlined in multiple documents. The Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) is one of these documents that delineate Indonesia’s policy framework for achieving environmental sustainability. This document, covering a five-year period, outlines the government’s priorities for managing waste by strengthening waste management systems through improved reduction, reuse, and recycling practices. 

As mentioned before, Indonesia also has a commitment under Law No. 18/2008 on Waste Management, which is another legal framework that governs waste practices in the country. One of its key principles is extended producer responsibility, which seeks to hold producers of waste accountable for the lifecycle of their products. Jakarta’s city-wide initiative to achieve 100% waste management would involve the law as a basis to establish a structure for managing waste. Jakarta is also actively trying to implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) which is an environmental policy approach that holds producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their product. The legal provisions regarding EPR are found within the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 75/2019, which mandates certain producers to develop and submit a 10-year waste reduction roadmap to reduce packaging waste. 

Attaining Jakarta’s 100% waste management goal, however, would not be without its own issues, as the aforementioned conventions to which Indonesia is a party must be followed when Jakarta focuses on its 100% waste management. This means that the hazardous waste governed by the Stockholm and Minamata conventions must meet the standard of being environmentally sound. This could pose an issue to Jakarta’s waste management goals due to its complex handling requirements, environmental risks, and regulatory implications. Emissions must be regulated, transboundary waste movement must be managed (as stipulated in the Basel Convention), and all actions taken by Jakarta must comply with the international provisions that Indonesia has ratified.

Jakarta’s plan to achieve 100% waste management by 2026 represents a significant step in addressing the growing environmental challenges. Indonesia, as a state, has numerous international and national commitments regarding waste management, which are grounded in legislation in both domains. Achieving this goal would be an important step in fulfilling the purpose of ratifying these laws, as it would reduce mismanagement of waste and thus improve the conditions of the environment. Jakarta’s initiative has the potential not only to transform urban waste management but also to serve as a model for sustainable cities across the region and beyond.