North Jakarta Becomes a Pilot Project for Urban Waste Management in Indonesia

North Jakarta is preparing to become a national model in urban waste management in Indonesia, following its designation by the Ministry of Environment to implement this strategic plan.

North Jakarta will serve as a model

Therefore, the Jakarta Environment Agency collaborates with various stakeholders to ensure that this system operates effectively and sustainably.

Ministry’s Environment and Forestry Standards Head, Noer Adi Wardojo, said each region must have a clear waste management roadmap and implement it optimally.

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"North Jakarta will serve as a model. Our focus is on an agenda that can be felt by all parties. The Environment Ministry is encouraging the program to run smoothly," he expressed, Monday (2/10).

Jakarta Environment Agency Head, Asep Kuswanto stated the readiness of North Jakarta as a model was demonstrated by various developed programs to support more integrated waste management, down to the neighborhood level.

"We want residents to take an active role in waste management. With KuPiLah or Reduce-Sort-Process, each neighborhood association can have an independent waste management system that contributes to reducing household waste before it reaches the landfill. Aside that, the optimization of waste banks is also part of our strategy to strengthen the circular economy concept," he explained.

He added the RDF Plant Jakarta in Rorotan, North Jakarta, was ready to operate and would be inaugurated by the elected governor soon.

This facility would be a downstream solution in waste management by processing waste into alternative fuels.

"This is one of the solutions to reduce the volume of waste that ends up in landfills. With the RDF Plant Jakarta being the largest in the world, we can reduce waste delivery to Bantargebang," he added.

According to him, the pilot program would also be applied in the Hotel, Restaurant, and Cafe sector. With a business-to-business scheme, waste management in this sector was to serve as a reference for other regions in Indonesia.

"This program emphasizes the obligation of waste sorting and fees for businesses to ensure better waste management control," he added.

Aside that, the Environment Agency was also developing an Integrated Organic Waste Management program in conjunction with the Free Nutritious Meals program in North Jakarta, to create an environmentally-based circular economy and food security.

This program would link the processing of organic waste with the use of the results for food needs, such as cultivating maggots whose results can be used as animal and fish feed.

Relying on one sector, he added, it also involved various elements of society and the business world.

"We implement upstream, midstream, and downstream approaches through cross-sector collaboration to enhance the effectiveness of waste management," he explained.

He added the Jakarta Government had also prepared a more comprehensive waste management roadmap. This roadmap would take effect from this year and was designed to create a more efficient and collaborative waste reduction and handling system.

"This will serve as the foundation for all the programs we implement, ensuring sustainability and real impact in the community. By doing so, North Jakarta is expected to become a model for other regions in addressing waste problems more systematically and innovatively," he uttered.

Previously, the Environment Agency initiated a meeting with collaborators to strengthen the waste management approach from upstream to downstream. 

This meeting was attended by representatives from the Indonesian Waste Bank Association (ASOBSI), Indonesian Packaging Recovery Organization (IPRO), Indonesian Plastic Recycling Association (ADUPI), Jakarta Chapter of Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Indonesian Shopping Center Management Association (APPBI), and maggot enthusiasts.