Jakarta could make waste management obligatory

With the volume of Jakarta’s waste increasing by 5% every year, Jakarta could soon make waste management obligatory, as part of a 20-year master plan. A draft bylaw, if approved, will require manufacturers and other producers to take responsibility for the management of their waste, including that discarded by their customers. “Producers have never been obliged to take responsibility for their waste because there was no bylaw obliging them to do so,” said Eko Baruna, head of the Jakarta Sanitation Agency. The city administration had submitted the draft bylaw to the Regional Representatives Council (DPRD), he said. “The draft, if approved, will force not only the government but also residents and producers to take the same responsibility in managing waste in the city,” he said. Jakarta produces around 6,500 tons of waste daily, while its landfill in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, West Java, can handle only 70% of it.