National landfills are currently exceeding capacity, and by 2045, Indonesia could generate 82 million tons of waste per year. Much of this waste may not be properly managed, posing a serious concern. Moreover, waste management issues have not yet received sufficient attention from local governments.
Priyanto Rohmatullah, Director of Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), emphasized the need for progressive government intervention, noting that landfill capacity will only last for the next four years or until 2028.
“It’s unfortunate that the waste management budget in many regional governments is less than 1%, including in Yogyakarta. The budget for waste management in Yogyakarta has never increased,” he said at UGM’s Balairung Hall on Friday, Feb. 22, 2025, while speaking at the “Waste Symposium: From Disposal to Building a Civilized Society.”
Rohmatullah also expressed concern that most local governments in Indonesia do not yet have a Master Plan for Waste Management (RIPS).
Out of 514 regencies/cities in Indonesia, only about 200 have developed a RIPS, with some still in the process and others having expired plans.
In terms of technical aspects, he pointed out that most waste management efforts are limited to collection, transportation, and disposal, with only a few community efforts to sort waste at the household level.
“Plastics should be separated, organics should be separated, and inorganics should also be separated. But what often happens is that everything is mixed, collected, transported, and dumped again. This is why our landfills practice open dumping, leading to overcapacity,” the director explained.
From an institutional perspective, Rohmatullah noted that in many regions, regulators also act as operators, creating transparency issues.
“The same agency should not handle waste management, but this dual role occurs frequently. As in Jogja, I don’t know how much waste collection fees are, though they should be measurable. If properly managed, things could be different,” he added.
Rohmatullah explained that Bappenas is currently guided by the Triple Planetary Crisis concept, which forms the basis for all environmental policies.
The three key issues are climate change, pollution and environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss.
“We are concerned that nearly one million species are expected to go extinct. And whose fault is that? Ours. It’s because of our behavior,” he lamented.
Dr. Luluk Lusiantoro, Head of UGM’s Waste Task Force, acknowledged that Indonesia is far behind developed countries in addressing waste issues.
Advanced nations have long been discussing environmental concepts and regulations.
As a professor focused on waste issues, Dr. Lusiantoro emphasized three key points in the waste management process, adopting a circular economy approach: Degrowth, Regenerate, and Educate.
Degrowth involves transitioning to more eco-friendly business and economic models. Regenerate considers not only current consumption but also future needs.
Lastly, educate means spreading positive environmental management practices to the broader public, especially the younger generation, who have the potential to lead in the future.
The symposium, organized by UGM’s Office of Occupational Health, Safety, Emergency, and Environment (K5L UGM), was held to commemorate National Waste Awareness Day and remember the tragedy at the Leuwigajah Landfill in Cimahi 20 years ago. A garbage landslide caused by an explosion claimed 157 lives.
The event also marked Arif Nurcahyo’s farewell as the Head of K5L UGM and his transition to becoming a member of UGM’s Waste Task Force.
Nurcahyo emphasized that waste management in Indonesia is becoming more complex due to population growth and limited processing facilities.
As an academic institution, UGM continues to contribute to finding solutions through forums that bring together stakeholders to discuss strategic waste management steps.
“UGM has 61,000 students, and here we have a waste task force, security personnel, and others. We are all discussing this together, and it turns out that solving the waste problem is not just about intelligence or logic but requires humility and heart,” he concluded.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Post-editor: Lintang
Photographer: Donnie