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Agence France-Presse

Garbage-choked streets, overloaded landfills and the fear of trash avalanches haunt Indonesia’s capital region, as the world’s most populous metropolis grapples with a waste crisis.
Jakarta and its satellite cities, known collectively as Jabodetabek, are home to 42 million people and produce up to an estimated 14,000 tonnes of waste daily.
That has placed increasing strain on the eight or so landfill sites that serve the region, which are now all close to or entirely full, according to local media reports.
At a traditional market in the city’s south, Nurhasanah said the rubbish piling up by her coffee and snacks stand was bad for business.
The smell is awful, very pungent. It is also unpleasant to look at
Nurhasanah, stall holder in Jakarta
“The smell is awful, very pungent. It is also unpleasant to look at. It looks filthy,” said Nurhasanah, who like many Indonesians only has one name.
Experts say population growth, rising incomes leading to higher consumption and a chronic lack of sorting and disposal enforcement have created the crisis.
Capacity is even an issue at the massive Bantar Gebang site, one of the world’s largest open landfills, sprawling over more than 110 hectares (270 acres).
It already holds around 55 million tonnes of trash, according to a local environment agency official, who did not specify how much space was left despite reports it is at overcapacity.


In South Tangerang, some pedestrians gagged and swatted at swarms of flies as they walked down littered streets.
“I’m disappointed. We, as civilians, pay taxes, right? So why is the government like this? Waste management should be their responsibility,” said Muhammad Arsil, a 34-year-old motorbike taxi driver.
Another resident, Delfa Desabriyan, said people threw rubbish in the street because the local landfill was full.
“Every single day, there’s always someone dumping trash,” the 19-year-old shop attendant said.
“It’s annoying, to be honest, like when we want to eat, I lose my appetite. The smell is just off-putting.”

The nearest landfill only holds 400 tonnes of waste, well below the 1,100 tonnes South Tangerang produces daily, according to the local government.
The problem extends beyond the capital, with President Prabowo Subianto warning almost all the country’s landfills will be full, or over capacity, by 2028.
Hundreds still use open dumping – despite it being illegal – and waste is often burned, releasing potentially hazardous pollutants.
Overcapacity landfills come with additional risks.
In 2022, a 30-metre (100-foot) high garbage heap at a landfill in West Java’s Cipayung triggered a landslide that entered a river, submerging a bridge to the neighbouring village.

Locals now rely on a makeshift raft made from plastic barrels and plywood to cross the river.
“If the trash keeps piling up higher, the garbage from the top will slide down again,” said local resident Muhammad Rizal.
The Cipayung landfill has been at overcapacity since 2014, a University of Indonesia study found.
And in 2005, 143 people were killed by a garbage avalanche at another landfill in West Java’s Cimahi, triggered by a methane gas explosion and heavy rain.

The government says it plans to permanently close several landfills, including those in South Tangerang and Cipayung.
It is promoting waste-to-energy sites that incinerate garbage and produce electricity, with 34 planned within two years.
“This is a substantial investment, almost US$3.5 billion,” Prabowo said last week.
But the planned plants won’t tackle the lack of sorting and recycling, said Wahyu Eka Styawan of the environmental group Walhi.
“This is a complex issue, a mix of poor awareness, policy and a kind of inconsistency in how waste management is implemented,” he said.
“It’s one of those things that has been left unaddressed for a long time.”


He said reforms are needed for a waste management system that is still designed on the collect-transport-dispose model without prioritising reduction at the household level.
Jakarta’s environmental agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nur Azizah, a waste management expert at Gadjah Mada University, said the government’s failure to educate people and a lack of law enforcement were partly to blame.
“The problem lies in the consumption pattern, so what we need to fix is the way we consume,” she said.


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Indonesia

Indonesia’s capital is drowning in waste: ‘the smell is awful’

A man uses a shovel on a pile of rubbish on a public road in Pasar Minggu, Jakarta. Photo: AFP

Vehicles drive along a road in South Tangerang, Banten, littered with illegally dumped waste last month. Photo: AFP

Heavy machinery at work last month on the Cipayung landfill in West Java, which is prone to collapse. Photo: AFP

Residents use a makeshift raft made to cross a public road that has been submerged for years by rising river levels following trash avalanches at the Cipayung landfill. Photo: AFP

Indonesians weigh peril and promise of life in Jakarta – the world’s most populous city

A view of traffic during evening rush hours in the business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 3. Photo: Reuters

Fitri Sartika Rama, standing in front of Monas, Indonesia’s National Monument, calls Jakarta a “young person’s city” but says she would not like to live there long term. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn 

A person walks through floodwaters in Jakarta after heavy rainfall in Bogor caused the Ciliwung River to overflow. Photo: dpa

Amat works as a “silver man” covered in a mix of coconut oil and silver paint in Jakarta. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn 

Mamay, who owns an antiques business in Jakarta, says he would not wish to live anywhere else. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

Toxic tides: life in Indonesia’s most polluted village

A food stall in Tanjung Uma next to a trash-strewn waterway. Photo: Ken Kwek

An aerial view of the trash that accumulates in Tanjung Uma, Indonesia. Photo: Seven Clean Seas

Tanjung Uma resident Dewi Puspalani shows the sores on her feet. Photo: Ken Kwek 

Tanjung Uma fisherman Jumadi, 40, points to a dead fish. Photo: Ken Kwek

Rubbish is seen piled up along a trash-strewn road outside Kampung Mentigi, Indonesia. Photo: Ken Kwek

An aerial view of Tanjung Uma, Indonesia. Photo: Hasroy

Children swim in polluted waters in Tanjung Uma, Indonesia. Photo: Ansarullah Lawi

HSBC

Bali’s waste woes under scrutiny as Prabowo slams Indonesian officials’ ‘slow’ response

Waste materials lie on Kuta Beach on Bali island on January 23. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said he received complaints from foreign dignitaries about the state of cleanliness in Bali. Photo: EPA

Waste materials on Kuta Beach on Bali island on January 23. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has threatened to deploy the military for clean-ups if Balinese officials are not up to the task. Photo: EPA

People clean up waste materials on Kedonganan Beach in Bali on January 29. The island’s governor has blamed external sources for waste washed up on Bali’s coasts. Photo: EPA

Waste materials on Kuta Beach on Bali island in January. Observers have called for stronger waste management enforcement and education. Photo: EPA

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

With 42 million people churning out 14,000 tonnes of rubbish every day, Jakarta and its satellite cities are running out of room for trash


With 42 million people churning out 14,000 tonnes of rubbish every day, Jakarta and its satellite cities are running out of room for trash.


Environment

Recycling and waste reduction

Waste Management

Prabowo Subianto

Indonesia’s capital is drowning in waste: ‘the smell is awful’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}With 42 million people churning out 14,000 tonnes of rubbish every day, Jakarta and its satellite cities are running out of room for trash

With 42 million people churning out 14,000 tonnes of rubbish every day, Jakarta and its satellite cities are running out of room for trash