Indonesia is facing a growing waste management problem as the country experiencing an increase of plastic waste up to 30% in the last 3 years due to COVID-19 pandemic which drives people to consume more plastic for wrapping and packaging. News of final waste disposal location or TPA being full are increasing. Kepatihan Village Integrated Waste Management Site (TPST) in East Java was reported to be full on 25 January 2023, which drives the villagers to drop their waste on the local village hall office. Three final waste disposal location in Lampung Province have exceeded capacity as the waste production in the province reaches to 4,515 tons of waste per day. Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) had asked the public to manage waste wisely. People are asked to sort out wastes and reuse plastic packaging whenever possible. The ministry also stated a target of no new TPA will be built from 2030. The target is further cemented with the other target of achieving zero waste by 2030. By implementing various initiative, Indonesia is expected to be TPA-free by 2040.
The road to the target will be a long one. From 2019 world bank data, Indonesia mostly disposes of its waste in landfills, accounting for 69% of the total waste. Only 7% are recycled and even 10% of it are still being disposed in open dumps. Other than being dangerous to the environment, landfill and open dump sites generates methane, which in a 20-year timeframe, will be 84 times stronger than CO2 in causing climate change.
Table 1: Waste Treatment by Country
In the effort to achieve the government’s target for climate change and no more landfills, Indonesia has taken the initiative of using wastes as a source of energy via Waste-to-Energy (WTE). WTE power plants convert waste into energy by burning it in a specially designed incinerator. This process produces steam, which is then used to generate electricity. WTE power plants are seen as a way to deal with the increasing amounts of waste generated by growing populations, while also reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In an effort to increase the number of WTE plants, the Indonesian government has decided to implement waste mining and convert it into brickets of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) which will be used to fuel the WTE plants. The initiative is expected to run in between 2030 to 2040.
Exhibit 1 Total MSW generated per year in tons
Source: *https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0039597
Despite being largest in Southeast Asia and one of the world's largest producers of waste, Indonesia has been slow to adopt WTE power plants, which are becoming increasingly popular in other countries. In the EU, waste incineration doubled from 1995 to 2019. Europe is the largest and most enhanced market for WTE facilities primarily because of the EU Circular Economy Package adopted in January 2018 that requires a 65% reduction in the landfilling of biodegradable Municipal Solid Waste by 2030. As of 2019, Indonesia has just begun to build 12 WTE plants. And as of August 2022, only one has been operational, PLTSa Benowo in Surabaya with 11 MW of capacity.
However, developing WTE power plants in Indonesia comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of infrastructure and technical expertise to support the development of WTE power plants as Indonesia has just started to develop such plants. The country also faces a shortage of funding for such projects due to the high level of investment needed. WTE plants requires an investment of USD 4,000 per kWh. This made it not feasible for many areas if its using the usual scheme of turning waste into energy by using current technology. Local government is expected to provide tipping fees or waste management funds to make such projects feasible. But the problem is, not all regions have the sufficient fiscal capacity to provide such support and will require central government’s support. The high cost of investment will inevitably make the price of electricity produced to be more expensive. Based on Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 35 of 2018 concerning the Acceleration of Construction of Installations for Processing Waste into Electrical Energy Based on Environmentally Friendly Technology, the state utility company of PLN has to buy the electricity from WTE plants by USD 13.35 cent or IDR 2,024 per kWh (1 USD=15,166 IDR, as of 18 February 2023). This will be another problem for the PLN as the average cost for PLN to produce electricity is usually below that. For example, the 2021 state budget only provides the electricity supply cost for PLN IDR 1,334 per kWh in average.
Despite these challenges, investing in the sector is a step toward more sustainable approach to waste management in Indonesia. The next steps for Indonesia will be to continue to invest in the development of WTE power plants and to work towards addressing the challenges and concerns that have held the country back in this area. This will require a concerted effort from the government, private sector, and other stakeholders, as well as a commitment to sustainable waste management practices.
In conclusion, while there are significant challenges to be overcome, the development of WTE power plants in Indonesia holds great promise for a more sustainable future. The country must take the necessary steps to overcome these challenges and move towards a more sustainable approach to waste management.
