Waste banks can still play a huge role in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Setting up waste banks, integrated waste processing spaces (TPST), and reduce-reuse-recycle waste processing spaces (TPS 3R) can help cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

During the 7th Waste Bank National Coordination Meeting here on Tuesday, the ministry’s Waste Reduction Director, Sinta Saptarina, said that steps such as sorting waste for waste banks or processing organic waste into compost can reduce the production of methane.

Methane gas is one of the greenhouse gases that, when released, can affect the atmosphere and raise the Earth's temperature, she noted.

Methane can be produced from decomposing waste piles, and can be released in large quantities by landfills, she added.

In addition, wrong waste management such as open waste burning and littering can also produce methane, she informed.

The waste sector is included within sectors that have become the target for emissions reduction in Indonesia, as stipulated within the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), along with the forestry, industry, and agriculture sectors, Saptarina said.

Reaching that target within the waste sector necessitates policies that encourage less waste going to landfills, restriction of single-use plastics, minimal waste lifestyle, waste management, and recycling, she added.

"Waste banks can still play a huge role in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Saptarina remarked.

During the meeting, the ministry's director general of waste management, waste, and hazardous toxic materials (PSLB3), Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, said that the ministry is encouraging waste banks to adopt more professional management practices.

This is being done to encourage them to grow as well as to help reach the target of 30-percent waste reduction and 70-percent waste management by 2025, she added.

This can be done with the help of the Indonesian Waste Bank Association (ASOBSI), she said.

Regulations regarding waste banks have been stipulated in the Minister of Environment’s Regulation No. 14 of 2021 concerning Waste Management in Waste Banks.

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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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