Waste4Change CEO Mohammad Bijaksana Junerosano called for a total overhaul of Indonesia's waste management system amid a national garbage crisis. He highlighted a circular economy potential of Rp 500 trillion per year, provided strong infrastructure and ecosystems are in place. The remarks came at an Earth Day media gathering in Jakarta on April 20, 2026.
Indonesia generates around 144,000 tons of waste per day, equivalent to 12 Borobudur Temples, but only 25 percent is properly managed. The remaining 75 percent ends up in open dumping landfills, banned since Law No. 18 of 2008. "Our waste is collected, but where to? Turns out 75 percent is unmanaged," said Bijaksana, known as Sano, at the event.
Open dumping poses high risks, such as landslides like the 2005 Leuwigajah tragedy that killed over 150 people and incidents at Bantargebang landfill. Sano stressed the need for strict law enforcement to address violations seen as normal.
The current system is linear: take from nature, use, discard, creating "new mountains" of waste. Sano cited a Bappenas study estimating Rp 500 trillion annual circular economy potential, untapped due to weak collection and material recovery infrastructure.
Solutions go beyond technology like PSEL or TPS3R, requiring a full ecosystem: regulations as soil, collaboration as water, and financing as sunlight. He advocated extended producer responsibility (EPR) and waste service levies, as 80 percent of costs are fixed public services.
