Press Release
Zero Waste Indonesia Alliance (AZWI)
West Java Governor, Ridwan Kamil, on Wednesday (August 9, 2023) announced the name of the winning bidder that will build and manage the Legok Nangka Final Waste Treatment and Processing Facility (TPPAS) in Citaman Village, Nagreg Subdistrict, Bandung Regency. Consequently, a waste-to-energy (Waste-to-Energy) facility—or a Waste-to-Energy Power Plant (PLTSa) incinerator—will be built at that location. The Legok Nangka TPPAS will eventually incinerate waste sent from six regions: Bandung City, Cimahi City, Bandung Regency, West Bandung Regency, Garut Regency, and Sumedang Regency.
Shortly after that announcement, the Sarimukti Final Waste Processing Site (TPA) experienced a fire that lasted more than 7 days, leading Ridwan Kamil to declare a waste emergency.[1] In response to these two issues, AZWI, Walhi West Java, Walhi National, and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) are calling for a halt to the use of thermal technologies such as incinerators. The West Java Provincial Government and the West Java Environmental Agency need to reconsider their decision to select this waste incineration technology amid the waste emergency.
Meiki Paendong, Executive Director of Walhi West Java, stated, “The high cost of tipping fees for incinerators and the put-or-pay mechanism in the cooperation contract constitute a highly risky imposition and place a burden on the public funds held by regency and city governments. The fire at the Sarimukti Landfill is one indication that the current budget is still far from sufficient to operate a safe landfill.”
Meiki emphasized that incinerators are the most expensive method for managing waste and generating electricity.[2] According to him, cities and regencies still require a very large additional budget to manage waste through sorting and reduce waste at the source, especially organic waste, which makes up the majority of waste generated in the Bandung metropolitan area.
He also added that funding for incinerators should be redirected toward managing organic waste, which was the root cause of the explosions and fires at the Sarimukti and Leuwigajah landfills. “Investment in composting has the potential to create at least six times as many new jobs as an incinerator,”[3]” added Meiki.
Abdul Ghofar from Walhi’s National Executive Board said, “The Legok Nangka PLTSa project burdens and harms the state’s finances with a $100 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), part of the World Bank[4]. Ghofar also criticized the awarding of the Legok Nangka solar power plant tender to a Japanese consortium.[5] “The selection of incinerator technology is suspected to have been influenced by technical assistance provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)[6], which ultimately led to the award of the contract to the Sumitomo-Hitachi Zosen consortium, a Japanese company that sells incinerators in various countries. As for the tipping fee, which is extremely high, it will benefit Japan but harm the public, who pay for it through taxes,” continued the urban issues campaigner.
In addition, Aliansi International Waste Pickers also reported that incinerators and the privatization of the waste sector are highly detrimental to waste pickers and informal workers in the waste sector.
Another agreement that is detrimental to local governments concerns subsidies. This will result in a reduction in the budget available for waste sorting, recycling, and waste reduction efforts—which are JAKSTRADA’s targets.
GAIA’s Response: Waste and Climate Crisis
Meanwhile, Yobel Novian Putra from Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) emphasized the negative consequences of incinerators on the climate crisis. "Incinerators will only replicate the burning at the Sarimukti landfill, which releases greenhouse gases on a massive scale. Just like the burning of waste at landfills, incinerators burn a mixture of various types of waste, including both organic waste and plastics made from fossil fuels”. Several recent studies have shown that incinerators in the United States[7], the United Kingdom[8], and Europe[9] emit more greenhouse gases than coal-fired power plants. “Burning organic waste merely converts methane emissions from organic waste into CO2 on a massive scale. This will only push Indonesia further away from its Paris Agreement targets and the Global Methane Pledge[10], which Indonesia signed not long ago,” criticized Yobel, a Climate Policy Staff member at GAIA.
Responding to the Greater Bandung waste crisis related to the fire at the Sarimukti Landfill, Meiki emphasized, “Burning waste—especially wet organic waste—is extremely inefficient and merely converts one problem into another. On the other hand, technologies such as composting and bioconversion (e.g., Black Soldier Fly) or maggots can prevent methane emissions at a much lower unit cost, are easy to implement, and offer multiple benefits.&” He also added that while the Sarimukti Landfill is not yet operational, the Legok Nangka Integrated Waste Management Facility (TPPAS) should be able to address the waste crisis. However, because the facility is tied to a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme, it cannot be opened.
Therefore, we, as a civil society organization, believe that the PLTSa incinerator is not a solution to the waste problem and will only create new social and environmental issues. Not only that, but it may also place a financial burden on local and city governments. (End)
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Zero Waste Indonesia Alliance (AZWI)
The Zero Waste Indonesia Alliance is a coalition of organizations comprising YPBB, GIDKP, Nexus3 Foundation, PPLH Bali, ECOTON, ICEL, Nol Sampah Surabaya, Greenpeace Indonesia, Gita Pertiwi, and WALHI. AZWI advocates for the proper implementation of the Zero Waste concept within a mainstreaming framework through various existing Zero Waste activities, programs, and initiatives to be applied in various cities and regencies across Indonesia, taking into account the waste management hierarchy, the material life cycle, and approaches to sustainable production and consumption.
WALHI West Java
Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI) is an independent, nonprofit environmental organization established on October 15, 1980. WALHI has more than 500 member organizations and 28 regional offices, one of which is WALHI West Java. WALHI is affiliated with Friends of the Earth International, an international grassroots federation active in 76 countries.
Contact Person: Meiki W Paendong-[email protected]
GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives)
GAIA is a network of grassroots groups as well as national and regional alliances representing more than 1,000 organizations from 92 countries. GAIA focuses on waste and environmental justice issues and works to strengthen grassroots social movements that advance solutions to waste and pollution.
Contact Person: Yobel Novian Putra–[email protected]
[1] https://bandung.bisnis.com/read/20230827/549/1688688/ridwan-kamil-rilis-aturan-bandung-raya-darurat-sampah
[2] Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (2021). The High Cost of Waste Incineration.
https://www.no-burn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/The-High-Cost-of-Waste-Incineration-March-30.pdf
[3] Ribeiro-Broomhead, J. & Tangri, N. (2021). Zero Waste and Economic Recovery: The Job Creation Potential of Zero Waste Solutions. Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. https://www.no-burn.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Jobs-Report-ENGLISH-1.pdf
"[4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/loans-credits/2019/12/05/indonesia-improvement-of-solid-waste-management-to-support-regional-and-metropolitan-cities
[5] https://jabar.jpnn.com/jabar-terkini/12244/konsorsium-asal-jepang-pemenang-tender-tppas-legok-nangka-begini-kata-ridwan-kamil
[6] https://www.jica.go.jp/Resource/english/news/press/2019/20190930_10_en.html
[7] Tangri, N (2023). Waste incinerators undermine clean energy goals. https://journals.plos.org/climate/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000100&type=printable
[8] UKWIN (2018). Evaluation of the climate change impacts of waste incineration in the United Kingdom. https://ukwin.org.uk/climate/#evaluation
[9] Zero Waste Europe (2019). The impact of waste-to-energy incineration on the climate. https://zerowasteeurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/zero_waste_europe_policy-briefing_the-impact-of-waste-to-energy-incineration-on-climate_en.pdf
[10] https://dinsights.katadata.co.id/read/2021/11/03/indonesia-joined-100-countries-to-slash-gas-methane-by-30-in-2030