Jakarta (Greeners) – Approaching National Waste Day, Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) held a meeting with local governments of Jakarta, Palembang, Semarang, Balikpapan, Surakarta and Musi Banyuasin to discuss on Three Months Free of Waste which was launched in 2018, said a senior official in Jakarta, on Wednesday (21/2).

Director General of Waste and Dangerous Toxic Management, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, said that clean Indonesia was not the works of central government but also support from local governments and public.

“We have to work with local government to implement waste management. The letter No. 1 Year 2018 on HSPN encourages and assess the works of local head of districts, governors, bupaties, and mayors with Three Months Free Waste,” said Ratnawati in Jakarta on Wednesday (21/2).

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On waste management, Balikpapan Mayor Rizal Effendi said that his administration has a priority program to support the initiative and defend its title as The Cleanest City since 1996. The program has incorporate local curriculum on environment in schools in Balikpapan and campaign about the importance to sorting waste.

“We build schools near the environment so they really love the environment and know the reality. We are also campaigning on sorting to reduce the wastes in the landfills, such as in Gunung Bahagia of Balikpapan,” said Effendi.

Balikpapan allocates Rp1.2 trillion of which Rp 60 billion per year for environment issues. “We build this Clean City for more than 30 years. It cannot be realized in just one or two years,” said Suryanto, head of Balikpapan Environmental Agency.

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Meanwhile, Andi Wijaya Busro, secretary of Musi Banyuasin Environmental Agency said that his district will launch Kampong Manages Waste on March 9, which underlines sorting household waste before collected, transferred and managed in neighborhood unit.

“We will implement in two kampongs which will serve as models for waste management in other kampongs. The first will be implemented in Sekayu, capital city of Musi Banyuasin. If it’s successful, we will implement it through Musi Banyuasin,” he said.

Reports by Dewi Purningsih

Jakarta (Greeners) – As a nation with the waste to energy technology, Finland had offered cooperation to apply the technology that uses thermal process which has recently gain popularity to Indonesia during the official visit of Minister of Economics and Employment, Mika Lintila, with Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya.

Minister Siti said that Indonesian government welcomes every effort by strategic partners to cooperate on supporting National Action Plan on Marine Plastic Debris, including on land, beaches, and oceans waste which could significantly reduce plastic waste and realize free waste policy.

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“Several big cities in Indonesia are ready to use direct thermal process to turn waste to energy such as in Makassar, Surabaya, Jakarta, Bandung, Solo, Denpasar, Tangerang and Semarang. The efforts will, of course, support the National Target 2025 of reducing 30 percent of waste and waste management up to 70 percent,” she said on Wednesday (7/6).

With waste production reaches 64 million per tons per year, comprises of organic waste 60%, plastic 15%, paper 10%, and others (metal, glass, cloth and leather) 15%, Indonesia is a potential market to develop such technology. The technology will reduce waste volume and also generate energy for people.

“Currently, waste management in Indonesia still send wastes to landfills (69%), 7.5% compost and recycle, open landfill 5%, burried 10% and no treatment 8.5%,” said Minister Siti.

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Finland’s Minister of Economics and Employment Mika Lintila said that Fortum Corporation is a company offered by Finland to work with Indonesia. Fortum is a Finnish energy company focusing on operating power plant, generating and selling electricity, heat and steam.

Fortum, said Mika, has been chosen as investment and joint venture partner with Jakarta Metropolitan in developing the first waste to energy factory which would be developed in Sunter, North Jakarta.

“If the factory is finalized, it would be able to process 2.220 tons of solid waste per day or 25% of solid waste in Jakarta, ” he said.

Reports by Danny Kosasih