Industry Updates

4 Breakthroughs in Reaching Zero Waste Indonesia

Waste management still becomes one of the major problems in Indonesia. According to the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN), the amount of waste generated from 235 districts in 2021 was around 29 million tons. Of that figure, around 35% of the waste is not yet managed. 

However, various measures have been taken to address our waste problems, including establishing various regulations, be it at the national or the regional level, to reduce and eventually manage our waste better. 

Take a look at the following regulations to get a glimpse of the Indonesian government’s ambition to solve the waste problems and reach the notion of zero waste Indonesia

Clean-from-Waste Indonesia 2025

In the Indonesian President Regulation No. 97 of 2017, Indonesia has a National Strategy Policy on Managing and Reducing Waste. It’s a roadmap toward the 2025 Clean-from-Waste Indonesia (Indonesia Bersih Sampah 2025). 

The main targets are (1) to reduce 30% of the country’s waste from the source and (2) to process and manage at least 70% of the country’s waste to avoid it from being accumulated in the landfill. These targets are expected to be reached in 2025, and by the time this article is written, we only have two years left. 

zero waste indonesia
Indonesia Bersih Sampah 2025

Even so, the Presidential Regulation is somewhat like a formal order that needs to be obeyed by all regions. Consequently, every region in Indonesia is expected to make its own model plan (Regional Strategy Policy – Jasktrada) to achieve the 2025 Clean-from-Waste Indonesia. 

Jakarta’s Ban on Single-Use Plastic Bags 

At the regional level, the government of DKI Jakarta has implemented a ban on single-use plastic bags through Governor Regulation No.142 of 2019. The Regulation was signed on 27th December 2019 and will come into effect on 1st July 2020. The 6-month time gap was meant to be used as a transition period to give socialization for business owners. 

zero waste indonesia
Infographic about the legal subjects in the Government Regulation No. 142 of 2019 regarding The Obligation to Use Environmentally Friendly Shopping Bags. (Source: lingkunganhidup.jakarta.go.id)

Parties subjected to this regulation are supermarkets and merchants/shop owners inside shopping centers and traditional markets. They are prohibited from providing single-use plastic bags and have to provide reusable shopping bags instead. Moreover, managers of shopping centers and traditional markets should also require all tenants to use environmentally friendly bags. 

A good rule of thumb for environmentally friendly shopping bags is that they should have adequate thickness, be designed for multiple uses, and also recyclable. In contrast, single-use plastic bags are defined as shopping bags with handles that are used to transport and or carry stuff. This bag is made of plastic as the primary ingredient, as well as polymer thermoplastic, latex, polyethylene, thermoplastic synthetic polymeric, or other similar ingredients.

Waste Reduction Roadmap by Producers

In line with the ambitious goal of Clean-from-Waste Indonesia 2025, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry established a Ministerial Regulation (Permen) No. 75 of 2019 on the Waste Reduction Roadmap by Producers. 

This waste reduction roadmap is meant to curb product packagings that are difficult to be degraded by natural processes and are not recyclable or reusable. 

Some outlines from Ministerial Regulation No.75/2019 are: 

  1. Producers are obliged to have a roadmap that consists of a plan for waste generation baseline, which includes a trial plan for waste reduction, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting that are accountable. 
  2. Producers are obliged to formulate a waste reduction implementation report that will be delivered to the Minister, governor, and or mayor according to the jurisdiction
  3. Minister, governor, and/or mayor, according to their authority, can give incentives to producers in the form of awards, good performance publications, and/or other forms of awards according to the rules.  
  4. Vice versa, governments can also give disincentives to producers in the form of bad performance publications. 
  5. Producers targeted in this Regulation are those who produce goods with packaging, distribute goods with packaging from imports, or sell goods using non-recyclables containers or one that is difficult to be degraded in natural processes. In other words, business actors in the retail, manufacturer, and FnB sectors. 

Waste Management Regulation in Industry and Companies 

In 2021, the government of DKI Jakarta also issued Governor Regulation No. 102 of 2021 regarding Waste Management in Industry and Companies. 

Through this regulation, industries are expected to be able to manage their waste independently and separately from the government using third-party waste management services/vendors. That way, waste management is expected to be more effective and efficient since the industry itself should understand better the types and volumes of waste that they produce. 

Furthermore, industries must ensure that their waste management is done responsibly according to the Law and in the following order: waste segregation, waste collection, waste management, and waste transportation. Last but not least, after choosing the waste management services that they will be using, industries should also be able to report their waste management activity periodically. 

Zero Waste Indonesia: A Utopian Dream or A Possible Reality? 

The concept of Clean-from-Waste Indonesia or even Zero Waste Indonesia sounds idealistic and ambitious, but is it really within our reach? Having looked at several of the regulations that have been implemented, it’s safe to assume that the government of Indonesia is being ambitious in reaching such notions. 

However, rules are just rules until they are implemented and enforced. Besides enforcing good waste management and curbing waste production, governments should also ensure that these regulations come into force and are obeyed by those subjected to them. That’s why the evaluation and monitoring aspects of regulation should also come to attention. 

Zero waste Indonesia is such a big dream, and we should also be ambitious in not only setting it but also achieving it. We’re on the right path already, but it’s gonna be a long and winding one filled with obstacles, and we can get there only if we work together.  

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