Bersih Indonesia: End-to-End Household Waste Management System Trials Start in Malang Regency

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste reaffirms support for Indonesia’s national zero-plastic waste ambition

Malang, Indonesia, May 18, 2022 – THE Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance), together with the Malang Regency and the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs (CMMAI) launched the Bersih Indonesia: Eliminasi Sampah Plastik programme today. The multi-year initiative will kick off in Malang, the second largest regency in East Java. More than 2.6 million people can expect to benefit from end-to-end waste management services when the programme is fully operational in 2025.

The Bersih Indonesia team will work closely with the local government to establish household collection services, as well as sorting, processing, and recycling facilities for residents who live outside the city of Malang. Government land parcels for five materials recovery facilities and four transfer stations have been earmarked, and construction is slated to begin in the second half of 2022. Community engagement and education programmes in schools will begin next year to help strengthen waste management and recycling literacy in the population, in preparation for the new system.

When fully operational, the system aims to divert more than 50,000 tons of plastic waste annually, representing a recycling rate of over 60%. The system also expects to create about 3,000 jobs. Phase One will be developed at a cost of US$29 million and will be fully funded by the Alliance.

Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, said: “To solve the problem of solid waste, it can no longer be done in the usual way. It must be done with innovation and carried out collaboratively with various parties.”

"This programme must be able to combine waste management models with circular economy principles to increase the economic value of plastic waste and facilitate the development of downstream ecosystems to take recyclates, including lower value ones, from the Malang Regency and turn them into new materials for industry," he added.

He was speaking at a ceremony for the signing of Memorandum of Understanding involving the CMMAI, the Malang Regency and the Alliance to mark the launch of the project. Minister Luhut also met with the Alliance recently to discuss the extension of the Bersih Indonesia programme into a national effort.

Dr Nani Hendiarti, Deputy of the Coordinating Section for Environmental and Forestry Management, who was one of the signatories of the Memorandum of Understanding from CMMAI, emphasised that multi-stakeholder collaboration such as the Bersih Indonesia programme is a key strategy to assist the central and local governments in their efforts to improve solid waste management.

She said: “Collaboration like this reflects the responsibility that all actors—from industry to governments and the community—have to improve the quality of the environment. For industry, it is vital they recognise the role they play in producer responsibility.”

Drs H M Sanusi, Bupati Malang, said: “Malang Regency's vision is to create a Clean Regency that is free from waste—by continuing to drive waste management innovation. Synergy across government agencies, donors, and community support is the key to developing more holistic waste management in the Malang Regency, which is expected to be a model for waste management by optimising the performance of local government services."

"Through the Bersih Indonesia programme, Malang Regency is optimistic to be able to provide optimal waste services and sustainable waste management. To achieve this, institutional innovation, services, regulations, as well as community support and collective participation are needed."

The Government of Indonesia has shown immense commitment to waste management, targeting to ensure that 70% of the country’s waste is well managed by 2025, with a 70% reduction in ocean plastic waste in the same period. Bersih Indonesia will help to support this ambition.

The Alliance has contracted with engineering and project management consultancy Mott MacDonald and environmental consultants SYSTEMIQ, to ensure smooth on ground implementation. The Alliance has partnered SYSTEMIQ since 2019 to develop a waste management system in western Bali. Bersih Indonesia builds on the learnings from that effort, known as Project STOP Jembrana.

Jacob Duer, President and CEO of the Alliance, said: “The Bersih Indonesia: Eliminasi Sampah Plastik programme is the result of the learnings we have gained from project implementation over the past two years. We are fully committed to ensuring the strong, smooth implementation of Phase One in Malang.”

“We are keen to get started and look forward to continue having close collaboration with the central and local governments, alongside our project partners and the private sector, to deliver a waste management system that will help support Indonesia’s plastic waste-free ambitions,” he added.