"They (waste banks) also support the work of regional governments in waste management. They help efforts to reduce waste in regions," the ministry's director general of waste, garbage, and hazardous toxic material management, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, said.
She made the statement at the 2024 Waste Bank National Coordination Meeting, which was followed online from here on Wednesday.
The target is deemed essential because Indonesia is seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by waste, considering that waste piles in landfills can produce methane, a type of greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
The production of methane from unmanaged waste can also trigger fires at landfills.
In 2023, Indonesia recorded 35 incidents of fires at landfills, which were mostly open dumping sites.
During Wednesday's meeting, Ratnawati urged the representatives of waste banks and regional governments to use the coordination meeting as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences in waste management.
According to the Environment and Forestry Minister's Regulation Number 14 of 2021, waste banks are facilities for managing waste on the principle of reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) and serve as a means of education, behavior change, and circular economy implementation.
Waste banks can be established and managed by communities, business entities, and regional governments.
Based on data from the Waste Bank Management Information System of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, as of 2024, as many as 30,148 waste banks have been established across neighborhoods in Indonesia.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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