Minister pushes 'carrot and stick' approach in waste management

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan urged the adoption of a "carrot and stick" or incentives and sanctions approach to change public behavior toward waste management.

The "carrot" represents incentives or rewards to encourage the public to actively sort and dispose of their waste, while the "stick" symbolizes law enforcement through fines or social sanctions.

"Open dumping is no longer allowed. Practices in landfills like Bantar Gebang will no longer be permitted. Waste management must be resolved locally at every site," he told the press here on Sunday.

He underscored that if open dumping continues, there will be penalties imposed in accordance with the law.

Speaking after a roll call on Jakarta's waste sorting movement, he warned that accumulated waste has a devastating impact, including damaging the environment, causing air pollution, and spreading microplastics that can trigger health issues.

"The impact of waste is immense. It ruins the environment, causes pollution, and the microplastics can even cause cancer," he stressed.

Hasan also revealed that several regions in Indonesia are ready to launch waste incinerators, which are with plans to expand their use to offices and households.

On the same occasion, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung announced that Jakarta Province will build waste-to-energy (WtE) power plants in Bantar Gebang, Tanjungan, and Sunter areas.

The development of these WtE projects aligns with Presidential Regulation No. 112 of 2022 on the Acceleration of Renewable Energy Development for Electricity Supply, as well as Jakarta Gubernatorial Instruction No. 5 of 2026.

"Hopefully, the 9,000 tons of waste Jakarta generates daily can be managed effectively by next year," he said.

As part of its efforts, the Jakarta Provincial Government is targeting to begin clearing waste from Bantar Gebang by 2029, as the landfill currently holds 55 million tons of trash, reaching a height of 60 meters.

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Translator: Muhammad Heriyanto, Raka Adji

Editor: M Razi Rahman

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