"Once it has become waste, we need money to process it," environmental counselor to the ministry's Directorate of Waste Management, Agus Puyi, said at an online discussion on Tuesday.
He drew attention to waste generated by each individual, which, if accumulated, can reach hundreds or even thousands of tons in a city such as Jakarta, with eight thousand tons of waste estimated to be generated per day on average.
According to Puyi, waste management is the responsibility of the regional government, including districts/cities, as per Law Number 18 of 2008 concerning Waste Management.
However, he said that not all regional governments have the financial capability to manage waste.
Data from the ministry shows that regions have set aside around 0.6 percent of their budget for waste management efforts, which is less than the 3 percent minimum budget required for optimal management of waste.
At the same time, many landfill sites (TPAs) have exceeded their capacity due to the large amount of mixed, unsorted waste and suboptimal reduction efforts, with some waste even leaking into the environment.
Puyi informed that the ministry has issued Circular Letter (SE) Number 02 of 2024 concerning the Waste Awareness Lifestyle Movement to encourage efforts to reduce waste by preventing waste production and encouraging waste sorting, reuse, and processing.
His party is also pushing for greater producer responsibility, for example, in taking back products to be processed or reused as part of circular economic practices.
He said that only producers need packaging, while the public, as customers, only need the products. Therefore, he urged producers to stop using single-use packaging.
Based on data from the Ministry of Environment's National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN), a total of 33.34 million tons of waste was recorded by 307 districts/cities across Indonesia in 2024.
The largest share of the waste comprised food waste at 39.41 percent, followed by plastic waste at 19.55 percent.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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