Jakarta, 18 September 2019: Experts in waste management issues, the private sector, and policymakers attended a seminar on Regional Waste Management in Indonesia and Other Asian Countries, organised by (ERIA), the Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), and Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
Mr Michikazu Kojima, ERIA Senior Economist, in his opening remarks conveyed his concern about the rapidly increasing amount of plastic waste in Asian countries. He highlighted the urgent need to enhance waste management practices, which can be implemented through improving the management of waste disposal and collection.
Dr Novrizal Tahar, Director of Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said comprehensive regulations and individual actions should work side by side to make a difference in reducing waste.
The seminar was divided into three main sessions, each discussing a different topic. The first session discussed the practice of regional waste management in Indonesia and other Asian countries. Dr Vella Atienza, from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and a representative from Loei Rajabhat University, Thailand, shared their experiences in dealing with regional collaboration on waste management in the Philippines and Thailand. Reflecting on what has been happening in both countries, the speakers agreed financial support is crucial for proper waste management.
The Philippines and Thailand governments encourage a tangible solution for the high cost of waste management, which requires municipalities to form joint waste management and treatment sites. This has been successfully proven to not only reduce the cost of investment, but also cover a wider service area. However, the implementation of clusterisation has to take into consideration the opinions of local people, who might oppose the location of the waste disposal area because of concerns about environmental and socio-economic impacts.
Mr Kian Siong, from the World Bank, told the panel discussion he was impressed by local regulations on waste collection in the Philippines, and it would be a good idea for Indonesia to have similar regulations at the level of Kecamatan (district) and Kelurahan (village). Dr Petkanjanapong said that in terms of funding, the Thai national government's commitment supporting the public private partnership (PPP) scheme has encouraged private companies to use bank loans, leading to more investment in regional waste management. In Thailand, although the waste is the property of the state, private companies have the right to make money out of it under PPP schemes.
Ms Kati Darto and Mr I Made Sudarma gave presentations in the second session on the challenges of regional waste management in Indonesia. They cited examples from the implementation of regional solid waste management in Mamminasata, South Sulawesi and Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Tabanan (Sarbagita).
Ms Kati Darto said there were eight major problems that led to the cancellation of Mamminasata regional solid waste management in 2014: assets, institutions, tariffs, compensation, cooperation among local governments, cooperation with the private sector, funding, and political support. Mr Sudarma, former head of Sarbagita regional waste management, said the problem in Sarbagita was caused by the reluctance of the government to allow the tipping fee charged by the private sector for the acceptance of waste for disposal. He said this mindset should be changed.
‘The government always thinks that waste is similar to coal. However, in waste management systems, waste is supposed to be used for saving the earth, not for gaining energy,’ he said.
Mr Eddy Satriya, from the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, then spoke of how the Indonesian government has done much to reduce waste, and that analysis of past trends shows waste-to-energy programmes have become the preferred solution for waste management in the country. However, he said any agreement to run a waste-to-energy programme can be risky because municipalities have to ensure there is a steady amount of garbage supplied to the power plant. This problem is amplified by current waste reduction efforts to encourage individuals to reduce their waste.
Mr Gun Gun Saptari Hidayat, from Bandung Cleanliness Enterprise, said during the panel discussion that the problem was not about technology, but rather the different perceptions from different levels of decision makers, so Indonesia should have a single standard for waste management,
The last session discussed the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme for regional waste management. Mr Triharyo Soesilo, from The Committee for Acceleration of Priority Infrastructure Delivery, said the implementation of PPP schemes frequently faced barriers in formulating the preliminary thoughts regarding a proposed project. However, support from international institutions can help address this problem.
Mr Edi Bahtiar, from the West Java Regional Waste Management Division, said PPP schemes can result in higher financial support, as there are more investors interested in running the project.
Mr Keitaro Tsuji, from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), then discussed how waste-to-energy development should be included in infrastructure programmes because it is one of the 37 national priority projects under Presidential Decree 35/2018. Through this, funding for a waste-to-energy project can be secured because it has full support from the government through the PPP scheme.
Mr Agus Iman Solihin, from PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur Persero (SMI), said PT SMI serves as a catalyst for infrastructure acceleration in Indonesia as it provides continuous funding for PPP projects, and government support has a crucial role in improving the attractiveness of waste-to-energy projects for investors. Professor Enri Damanhuri, from the Bandung Institute of Technology, closed the session saying the waste management issue in Indonesia is tremendously complicated, causing many regions to suffer.
Mr Kojima, in his closing remarks, said Indonesia has both opportunities and challenges, and that ERIA would help to formulate policy recommendations to be delivered to relevant stakeholders to overcome the country's complex regional waste management issue.
Communication Desk
Jakarta, 18 September 2019: Experts in waste management issues, the private sector, and policymakers attended a seminar on Regional Waste Management in Indonesia and Other Asian Countries, organised by (ERIA), the Institute of Developing Economies Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO), and Indonesia's Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
Mr Michikazu Kojima, ERIA Senior Economist, in his opening remarks conveyed his concern about the rapidly increasing amount of plastic waste in Asian countries. He highlighted the urgent need to enhance waste management practices, which can be implemented through improving the management of waste disposal and collection.
Dr Novrizal Tahar, Director of Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said comprehensive regulations and individual actions should work side by side to make a difference in reducing waste.
The seminar was divided into three main sessions, each discussing a different topic. The first session discussed the practice of regional waste management in Indonesia and other Asian countries. Dr Vella Atienza, from the University of the Philippines, Los Baños, and a representative from Loei Rajabhat University, Thailand, shared their experiences in dealing with regional collaboration on waste management in the Philippines and Thailand. Reflecting on what has been happening in both countries, the speakers agreed financial support is crucial for proper waste management.
The Philippines and Thailand governments encourage a tangible solution for the high cost of waste management, which requires municipalities to form joint waste management and treatment sites. This has been successfully proven to not only reduce the cost of investment, but also cover a wider service area. However, the implementation of clusterisation has to take into consideration the opinions of local people, who might oppose the location of the waste disposal area because of concerns about environmental and socio-economic impacts.
Mr Kian Siong, from the World Bank, told the panel discussion he was impressed by local regulations on waste collection in the Philippines, and it would be a good idea for Indonesia to have similar regulations at the level of Kecamatan (district) and Kelurahan (village). Dr Petkanjanapong said that in terms of funding, the Thai national government's commitment supporting the public private partnership (PPP) scheme has encouraged private companies to use bank loans, leading to more investment in regional waste management. In Thailand, although the waste is the property of the state, private companies have the right to make money out of it under PPP schemes.
Ms Kati Darto and Mr I Made Sudarma gave presentations in the second session on the challenges of regional waste management in Indonesia. They cited examples from the implementation of regional solid waste management in Mamminasata, South Sulawesi and Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Tabanan (Sarbagita).
Ms Kati Darto said there were eight major problems that led to the cancellation of Mamminasata regional solid waste management in 2014: assets, institutions, tariffs, compensation, cooperation among local governments, cooperation with the private sector, funding, and political support. Mr Sudarma, former head of Sarbagita regional waste management, said the problem in Sarbagita was caused by the reluctance of the government to allow the tipping fee charged by the private sector for the acceptance of waste for disposal. He said this mindset should be changed.
‘The government always thinks that waste is similar to coal. However, in waste management systems, waste is supposed to be used for saving the earth, not for gaining energy,’ he said.
Mr Eddy Satriya, from the Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs, then spoke of how the Indonesian government has done much to reduce waste, and that analysis of past trends shows waste-to-energy programmes have become the preferred solution for waste management in the country. However, he said any agreement to run a waste-to-energy programme can be risky because municipalities have to ensure there is a steady amount of garbage supplied to the power plant. This problem is amplified by current waste reduction efforts to encourage individuals to reduce their waste.
Mr Gun Gun Saptari Hidayat, from Bandung Cleanliness Enterprise, said during the panel discussion that the problem was not about technology, but rather the different perceptions from different levels of decision makers, so Indonesia should have a single standard for waste management,
The last session discussed the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme for regional waste management. Mr Triharyo Soesilo, from The Committee for Acceleration of Priority Infrastructure Delivery, said the implementation of PPP schemes frequently faced barriers in formulating the preliminary thoughts regarding a proposed project. However, support from international institutions can help address this problem.
Mr Edi Bahtiar, from the West Java Regional Waste Management Division, said PPP schemes can result in higher financial support, as there are more investors interested in running the project.
Mr Keitaro Tsuji, from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), then discussed how waste-to-energy development should be included in infrastructure programmes because it is one of the 37 national priority projects under Presidential Decree 35/2018. Through this, funding for a waste-to-energy project can be secured because it has full support from the government through the PPP scheme.
Mr Agus Iman Solihin, from PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur Persero (SMI), said PT SMI serves as a catalyst for infrastructure acceleration in Indonesia as it provides continuous funding for PPP projects, and government support has a crucial role in improving the attractiveness of waste-to-energy projects for investors. Professor Enri Damanhuri, from the Bandung Institute of Technology, closed the session saying the waste management issue in Indonesia is tremendously complicated, causing many regions to suffer.
Mr Kojima, in his closing remarks, said Indonesia has both opportunities and challenges, and that ERIA would help to formulate policy recommendations to be delivered to relevant stakeholders to overcome the country's complex regional waste management issue.
Communication Desk
