Jakarta Needs Five Waste-to-Energy Plants to Tackle Mounting Trash Crisis
Jakarta, Indonesia – July 1, 2025 – Jakarta urgently requires at least five Waste-to-Energy Power Plants (PLTSa) to significantly reduce teh overwhelming volume of waste currently being sent to the Bantargebang Final Processing Site in Bekasi City, West Java. This was announced today by Minister of Habitat Hanif Faisol Nurofiq [[1]].
Currently, Jakarta generates approximately 8,000 tons of waste daily, while the existing pltsa can only process 1,000 tons. This disparity highlights the critical need for expanded waste processing infrastructure.The addition of PLTSa facilities will not only alleviate pressure on the environmentally problematic Bantargebang landfill – which currently operates using an open dumping system posing risks to public health – but also contribute to increasing the city’s electricity supply through waste conversion.
“Because the waste generation alone is already 8,000 tons,while the PLTSa is being attempted to process 1,000 tons per day,” stated Minister Nurofiq during a visit to Cempaka Putih.
Jakarta has been identified as a priority location for these plants due to its exceptionally high waste generation – the largest of any Indonesian province – and the availability of funding. Though, Minister Nurofiq cautioned that building these facilities requires substantial, long-term investment, potentially spanning up to 20 years.
“If we don’t have the ability to pay, we’re afraid that this building will be abandoned, because the costs are quite high,” he warned.
To avoid repeating issues experienced at the Rorotan Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) facility – which was temporarily shut down due to odor complaints from nearby residents – the proposed PLTSa facilities will utilize pre-sorted waste. The Rorotan issue was attributed to inadequate waste sorting processes [[1]].