TPST Bantar Gebang Under Scrutiny for Open Dumping Practices and Potential Legal Violations
- Jun 8
- 1 min read
TPST Bantar Gebang, the largest waste management facility in Indonesia, has come under scrutiny after it was found to still use the open dumping method, where waste is simply piled directly on the ground surface. Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq emphasized that this practice violates Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management. The Jakarta Provincial Government, as the owner of the facility, is considered responsible for its management. A recent landslide tragedy that claimed seven lines has heightened concerns about safety risks and the massive environmental pollution occurring at that site. The Ministry of Environment is currently conducting a preliminary investigation to identify the cause of the incident and possible legal violations.
If serious violations of the Waste Management Law or Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management are proven, the responsible parties could face criminal sanctions, including imprisonment of 5-10 years and fines of up to Rp10 billion if negligence resulted in fatalities. TPST Bantar Gebang has accumulated around 80 million tons of waste over the past 37 years and currently receives more than 7,000 tons of waste daily. Although technologies such as RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) and plans for a waste-to-energy power plant (PLTSa) have been introduced, the processing capacity still cannot keep up with the continuous influx of waste. The government is therefore planning to strengthen waste sorting at the source and develop waste-to-energy facilities as a long-term solution for Jakarta’s waste management.
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