"The president wants us to enhance research that can help resolve problems faced by the community, including household and environmental waste management," he told the press after a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.
Hadi further stated that various research products are already available to tackle the waste problem at levels ranging from the household to the village. He expressed hope that these innovations would serve as tangible solutions for environmental management.
In addressing this issue, he noted that there are levels to consider, starting from the micro scale, such as waste from households, neighborhoods, and villages, to the macro scale, which involves significantly larger volumes of urban waste.
One of the initiatives taken by the government is the planned construction of 34 waste-to-energy (WtE) plants aimed at addressing the buildup of waste while simultaneously meeting the nation's electricity needs.
President Prabowo has announced that these projects are set to enter the initial stages of implementation.
According to Minister Hadi, the WtE plants will be established in 34 districts whose waste generation has exceeded 1,000 tons per day.
He explained that resolving the waste problem requires an integrated approach at every level, focusing on two primary areas, namely, first, adaptive technology, such as building incinerators tailored to each region’s specific waste capacity.
The second area is public education on waste sorting to ensure waste-to-energy programs operate at peak efficiency.
According to the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) of the Environment Ministry, as of February 5, 2026, as many as 238 districts and cities across Indonesia have reported their waste generation in 2025, which reached 23.86 million tons in total.
The ministry's data showed that household waste constitutes the majority of waste generation, reaching a significant 54.54 percent.
Related news: Minister calls for concerted action on Indonesia's waste problem
Related news: Indonesia turns to households to tackle waste emergency
Translator: M Baqir, Raka Adji
Editor: Arie Novarina
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
