WALHI rejects government push for waste-to-energy projects in Indonesia
In Indonesia, Indonesia Business Post reported that the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) has rejected the government’s push to promote Waste-to-Energy (WtE) power plants – locally known as Pengolahan Sampah Menjadi Energi Listrik (PSEL) – as a solution to Indonesia’s waste crisis.
“WALHI views this policy not as a solution to the waste crisis, but as evidence of the state’s failure to build a sustainable, equitable waste management system that prioritizes public safety,” the organization said in a statement.
The government has designated PSEL development as a national policy through Presidential Regulation No. 109/2025, which targets 100% managed waste by 2029. The policy is overseen by the Ministry of Environment and Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH) and the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs, with support from the State Secretariat under State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi.
PSEL has also been included among 18 strategic national downstreaming projects, with construction and groundbreaking targeted by March 2026.
The government has promoted PSEL as a fast-track solution to mounting waste volumes in 34 cities and regencies, while branding it as a renewable energy source and a green investment opportunity.
However, WALHI’s Urban Justice Campaign Manager Wahyu Eka Styawan warned that PSEL projects risk repeating past government project failures if implemented without meaningful public participation and comprehensive technical assessments of waste conditions from upstream to downstream in proposed locations.
From a technical and ecological standpoint, WALHI argued that PSEL is ill-suited to Indonesia’s waste characteristics, which are dominated by wet organic waste with low calorific value mixed with soil, stones, glass, metals, and hazardous materials. This, Wahyu said, creates incentives to maintain high waste generation, produces hazardous waste residues, and risks exacerbating pollution and water scarcity.
“The energy contribution from PSEL is minimal and disproportionate to the long-term fiscal burden and the social, health, and environmental impacts that communities will have to bear,” he said.
Category: Policy
