Mawarni beams with enthusiasm as she describes the waste sorting initiative in her neighborhood. For many, waste signifies the end of a product’s lifecycle, but in RT 5 RW 09, West Cakung, East Jakarta, the approach to waste management is undergoing a significant transformation.
Speaking with Katadata.co.id, the local housewife explained that over the past two years, residents have begun the habit of sorting waste directly from their homes. This small, consistent change is slowly reshaping how the neighborhood handles its trash.
For Mawarni and other residents in RW 09, trash is no longer just unwanted debris to be discarded. Items that were once considered problems are now treated as resources: anything with economic value is separated, collected, and deposited.
“Now, bottles, cardboard, and paper are frequently brought to the waste bank. Everything is sorted right from our homes,” Mawarni said on Sunday (April 5).
The community waste bank acts as the hub for this change. This initiative was launched by RW 09 residents to tackle waste issues at the source—the household level. Instead of all waste ending up in a final landfill, a significant portion now stops at the local weighing station first.
The waste bank program, which has been active since mid-2023, is supported by a collaboration with the Wings Peduli Foundation. This partnership helps structure the system, from documentation to sales, and provides essential education to residents. Mawarni herself serves as the official weigher for the program.
Once sorted, waste is weighed, recorded, and sold to collectors. Residents who participate earn credits that are saved in their personal accounts, which can be withdrawn later.
According to the RW 09 Waste Bank records, there are approximately 65 regular customers from nine different neighborhoods (RTs) utilizing the collection point. Collections are held twice a week.
Mawarni admits that this cultural shift did not happen overnight. Initially, residents needed training to distinguish between items with economic value and those without. “We were taught what could be sold and what couldn’t. From there, residents slowly got into the habit of sorting,” she noted.
During each collection cycle, the volume of waste reaches about 25 kilograms, consisting mostly of plastic and cardboard. While the financial return might be modest—sometimes just 10,000 IDR per deposit—it is enough to keep the residents motivated and the habit alive.
The head of RW 09, Dam Suhanda, views this behavioral change as a vital part of the solution. For him, the core of the waste bank program is not just about the money, but about fostering long-term, sustainable habits.
This transition is timely, as the Jakarta Provincial Government has begun tightening waste management regulations. By August 2026, the Bantar Gebang Integrated Waste Treatment Site (TPST) will only accept residual waste—trash that cannot be recycled. Consequently, household sorting is shifting from an optional initiative to a necessity.
“Waste must be sorted. Through the waste bank, we hope the community will be accustomed to this, and we must continue to strengthen it,” Dam said. He noted that in the past, waste management stopped at the disposal phase; people felt their duty ended once the trash was picked up, without considering its final destination.
Waste banks offer a different perspective: waste is managed and broken down right at the source. This is why households are the most critical point in the process.
Similar movements are sprouting elsewhere, as community-based waste banks offer both environmental and economic benefits. While the practices remain straightforward—sorting, collecting, and channeling waste into the recycling chain—the challenge lies in maintaining public awareness and navigating fluctuating market prices. Nevertheless, the trajectory of change is clear.
“Sorting waste from home and participating in the waste bank program has now become a necessity,” Dam emphasized.
In other parts of the city, the waste problem remains a massive, looming crisis. The Bantar Gebang landfill is under extreme pressure, with mounting piles of waste posing an urgent environmental threat.
A report by the research team at the Emmett Institute at UCLA, based on data from NASA’s Carbon Mapper and Planet Labs satellite, identified Bantar Gebang as the second-largest methane “super-emitter” in the world. Emissions in 2025 were estimated to reach approximately 6.3 metric tons per hour.
Methane is a byproduct of decaying organic waste. Without proper management, this gas escapes into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming. In high concentrations, methane also poses the risk of fires and explosions within the landfill.
At this scale, a single landfill can generate emissions equivalent to millions of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles or large-scale power plants, effectively meaning one mountain of trash can match the emission footprint of a small city.
Nationally, Indonesia’s waste management has entered a state of emergency. As of October 2025, the Minister of Environment declared that 336 out of 514 regencies and cities are in a “waste emergency” status. More than half of the country’s administrative regions are overwhelmed by mounting piles of trash and outdated processing systems.
The Ministry of Environment notes that national waste management performance is still far from its targets. By early 2025, the management rate had not yet reached 25%, lagging significantly behind the 52% goal set by the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).
Currently, Indonesia generates approximately 141,000 tons of waste per day. Only about 36,000 tons are properly processed. The remaining 75% often ends up in the environment without optimal treatment. A major part of the problem lies in the reliance on downstream solutions, such as open dumping, which remains common despite being prohibited by law.
Amid the limitations of downstream approaches, addressing the issue from the source—the upstream—is the only viable path. Technological solutions alone are insufficient to combat the sheer volume of waste being produced.
Fadli Rahman, Lead of Waste to Energy at Danantara, stated that the waste problem cannot be solved solely at the end of the chain. Waste-to-Energy (WtE) projects, while currently being prioritized by the government, can only handle about 30% of Indonesia’s waste issues. Fadli argues that the most effective approach is fostering community awareness in managing and sorting waste at home.
He warns that without concrete steps, the waste crises currently affecting several regions will spread, becoming increasingly difficult to manage. “If no one takes action, the waste problem will continue to grow and become harder to overcome,” Fadli said during a recent media discussion.
Despite the scale of the challenge, small steps taken by individual citizens are far from meaningless. As seen in Mawarni’s neighborhood, genuine change often starts at the grassroots level. The RW 09 program, supported by Wings Peduli, is part of a broader effort to transform how society perceives waste. Through education, training, and campaigns like #PilahDariSekarang (Sort From Now), community awareness is steadily growing.
Data indicates that between 2024 and 2025, this program successfully managed approximately 6.4 tons of inorganic waste, recruited over 100 new members, and educated hundreds of residents. While these figures may seem modest, they represent a vital behavioral shift—the essential foundation needed to alleviate the burden of waste at both the city and national levels.
Sheila Kansil, a representative from Wings Peduli, highlighted the importance of collaboration in driving this transition. “This initiative will continue so that it becomes a sustainable movement,” she stated in an official release.
For residents like Mawarni, the impact is tangible. They have moved from being unaware of the need to sort to consistently managing their daily waste. By shifting their perspective—viewing trash not as the final end of a product, but as something that can be repurposed—they are cultivating hope. Change is beginning at the household level, even as the nation faces a daunting road ahead.
Summary
Residents of RT 5 RW 09 in West Cakung, East Jakarta, have successfully implemented a household waste-sorting initiative to address the growing national waste crisis. By partnering with the Wings Peduli Foundation, the community established a waste bank where residents sort, weigh, and deposit recyclables to earn credits. This program, which processes approximately 25 kilograms of waste twice a week, fosters sustainable habits while preparing residents for stricter future government regulations on waste management.
This localized effort is crucial as Indonesia faces a national waste emergency, with 336 regions struggling under overwhelming volumes and insufficient processing infrastructure. Because landfills like Bantar Gebang are reaching critical capacity and contributing to severe methane emissions, experts emphasize that downstream solutions alone are inadequate. Consequently, managing waste at the source through community-led programs is being promoted as a necessary, long-term strategy to mitigate environmental impact and improve waste management efficacy across the country.
