1. Sabella 1
Nicky Sabella
Riefki Fajar G.W, S.Pd., M.Hum
Bridging Program
16 July 2019
Problems arising from Indonesia’s lack of waste management
Indonesia as one of the rapidly developing countries in the world with over 250
million population, has come to find itself in tremendous environmental dispute. The extent
of poverty, unemployment, and corruption yield Indonesia to stand as 108th out of 187
countries in the 2014 Human Development Index by World Bank. The vast population in the
urban sector also means the escalating rate of civil consumerism, energy utilization, and CO2
emissions. Habitually, the amount of waste produced from household activities soars as well.
Regardless of the matter, World Bank (2011) argued that Indonesian society has not seemed
to enforce the environmental values thoroughly. The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) in
2016 records the nationwide amount of waste reached 65 million tons every year. Given this
was let happened without any efforts to reduce or manage the waste, the improperly managed
waste can obliterate the environment and spread health risks amongst the living, and the
available landfills would not be able to accommodate more households waste. The lack of
waste management in Indonesia can be a disaster to the environment, living organisms, and
landfills.
The massive amount of neglected waste is immensely harmful to the environment.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2016) reported that more than 8 million tons of plastic waste
accumulated in the ocean every year. If the pollution continues constantly, plastic waste will
dominate the ocean more than fish in 2050. The vast impact also occurs in the freshwater and
soil ecosystem, as Jakarta provincial government (2012) reported that more than 90% of
domestic effluent ends up on rivers, oceans, and ground without proper management. The

2. Sabella 2
report from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) of clean
water and effluent management division also validated the fact that domestic waste is the
number one factor to the pollution freshwater, ocean, and soil ecosystem.
The living organisms are no exception relating to the opposing danger of neglected
waste. On 18 November 2018, it was reported that a sperm whale was found stranded and
dead at Pulau Kapota beach, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. In its abdomen was
found about 6 kilograms of waste such as plastic cups, sandals, and plastic ropes. Natacha
Aguilar de Soto, an expert in oceanology and ecology, stated that whales can mistake waste
as their prey since they use echolocation to hunt food. “They will have an echo very similar
to plastic bags,” Dr. Aguilar de Soto said. And as for seabirds and corals can mistake plastic
as their food because of the indistinguishable smell to their prey (Nevitt et al., 1995). Human
is also exposed to the danger of the environmental pollution caused by improperly managed
waste. Micro-plastic, which is plastic in much smaller size due to deformation, is polluting
the ocean and could be eaten by humans indirectly, for then to cause the intestine rupture. If
the micro-plastic enters the blood cell and disrupt the neural system, it can lead to death
(Chae & An, 2018). Polluted water and air can also lead to respiratory problems and
waterborne diseases. Without proper waste management and technique, the burned waste also
causes several health risks such as cancer, reproductive disorders, immune system, and
hormonal complication. A study conducted by Vrijheid (2000), indicated the probability of
lower newborn’s weight, higher possibility of hereditary diseases, cancers, allergies, and
respiratory diseases to residents living near landfills.
The lack of waste management is also an issue in regards to the landfills. Taken from
the populous province Yogyakarta, according to the observation by Sudibyo et al. (2017),
which has reportedly shown the abrupt expansion of the amount of municipal solid waste of
8% annually, with 470 tons solid waste, both inorganic and organic, gathered every day to

3. Sabella 3
one of the landfills in the province, Piyungan. The landfills’ problems worsened after the
residents’ blockade the access to the landfills, demanding further management of waste that
has been spilling all over the place for being overloaded. The smell originated from the
landfills also distract the residents and attract the insects to spread risks of diseases. With the
constant increasing waste production, if we apply the solution of having more landfills to the
problems, Yogyakarta province will need to have at least 60 landfills by 2030, which is
grueling (Sudibyo et al., 2017, pg. 495-498).
Looking at waste management in other countries, Japan is first in instigating the
plastic waste recycling with splendid 78% rate. Japan conducts the combination of
mechanical and chemical methods of managing their waste (Yolin, 2015). The practicable
solution for Indonesia’s problems regarding its mass waste production is to implement the
waste reduction by recycling and composting. As a resident, what can we do to contribute to
the problem is to start reducing the waste production from our household activities from now
on.

4. Sabella 4
REFERENCES
Sudibyo, H., Pradana, Y.S., Budiman, A., Budhijanto, W. (2017). Municipal Solid Waste
Management in Indonesia – A Study about Selection of Proper Solid Waste Reduction
Method in D.I Yogyakarta Province. Sleman, D.I. Yogyakarta: Universitas Gadjah
Mada, Center of Energy Studies.
Khoo, H.H., (2019). LCA of plastic waste recovery into recycled materials, energy and fuels
in Singapore. Singapore: Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences.
Nilan, P., Wibawanto, G.R. (2015). “Becoming” an environmentalist in Indonesia. Geoforum,
62 (2015), 61-69.
Lamb, J.B., et al. (2018). Plastic waste associated with disease on coral reefs. Science, 359,
Issue 6374, 460-462.
Gray, A., (2018) 90% of plastic polluting our oceans comes from just 10 rivers. Retrieved
July 16, 2019, from https://weforum.org/
Kusumaningrum, D., & Cahyadi, R. (2018). Pencemaran sungai Jakarta dan solusinya-
bukan sekadar waring. Retrieved July 16, 2019, from https://theconversation.com/id
Sky Ocean Rescue: A Plastic Whale. (2017, June 23), Sky News.Retrieved July 16, 2019,
from https://news.sky.com/
1millionwomen. (2017, August 4). Re: The Oceans Are Full of Plastic, But Why Do Seabirds
Eat It? [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://1millionwomen.com.au/
Nicholas School of The Environment. (2017, October 24). Re: Taste, Not Appearance, Drives
Corals to Eat Plastics. [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://nicholas.duke.edu/