Waste management in the city of Yogyakarta is still a crucial issue from year to year. The high daily waste production from household waste and waste from tourism residues also exacerbates the piles of waste that appear in various parts of the city. Referring to the average daily waste volume released by the DIY Regional Government Public Relations, by 2023, DIY produces around 1232 tons per day. Meanwhile, the city of Yogyakarta, according to the City Government, contributes around 200 tons of waste per day.
Daily waste production graph in DIY Province 2019-2023
Source: DIY Regional Government Public Relations, 2023.
Protests from residents continue to emerge, most recently during 2023 to 2024, protests re-emerged with the slogan #JogjaDaruratSampah. The protest was the result of the closure of the Piyungan TPA as a final disposal site. As a result, the waste in the city of Yogyakarta was not transported and left piles and a pungent odor. This situation could not be anticipated, considering that waste management in the city of Yogyakarta, both from producers (the community, tourism industry) and from TPST managers, has not been sorted based on the type of waste. Thus, the effort that is often made is destruction using an Incinerator machine.
Waste Management Budget Policy
The mandate for waste management in the City of Yogyakarta is given to the Environmental Agency (DLH). IDEA conducted an analysis of the 2024 DLH Budget Implementation Document (DPA). Based on the analysis results, the total expenditure for the Yogyakarta City DLH amounted to IDR 38,392,581,056, or only 1.9% of the total expenditure of the Yogyakarta city government. Of this budget, the DLH allocated a budget of IDR 30,750,390,626.00 for the Waste Management Program, which is 80.1% of the total budget of the Environmental Agency. This shows that the waste management program absorbs most of the DLH budget. Meanwhile, the remaining 20% of the total DLHK spending is allocated for 1) Regional Government Affairs Support Program: Rp358,070,995.00 (0.9%), 2) Environmental Education and Training Improvement Program: Rp2,556,256,400.00 (6.7%), 3) Pollution Control Program: Rp216,943,100.00 (0.6%), and 4) Biodiversity Management Program: Rp4,097,989,935.00 (10.7%).
Back to 80% of the budget for waste management. If we look deeper, the program has several sub-activities, including 1) Increasing community participation in waste management, 2) Handling waste through waste sorting and processing at waste processing installations TPS3R, PDU, TPST, TPS, SPA, PSEL/PLTSa, RDF, composting centers, biodigesters, waste banks, 3) Implementation of monitoring and supervision at the district/city level, and 4) waste recycling.
Waste management budget allocation table based on sub-activities
| Unit of Analysis | Allocation (Rp) | Alokasi (%) |
| Total expenditure on waste management programs/activities in the city of Yogyakarta | 30.750.390.626 | 80% of the total DLHK expenditure |
| Sub-activity Increasing Community Participation in Waste Management | 1.318.930.000 | 4.29% of total program/waste management spending |
| Sub-activity Waste management through waste sorting and processing at waste processing installations TPS3R, PDU, TPST, TPS, SPA, PSEL/PLTSa, RDF, composting centers, biodigesters, Waste Banks and other facilities in accordance with laws and regulations. | 29.371.203.376 | 95.51% of total program/waste management spending |
| Sub-activity of Monitoring and Supervision ImplementationManaging technical supervision of waste management at the district/city level. | 46.666.500 | 0.15% of total program/waste management spending |
| Waste Recycling Sub-activity: Managing waste for recycling purposes. | 13.590.750 | 0.04% of total program/waste management spending |
Source: DPA, DLHK Yogyakarta City Government, 2024 (processed)
The above data shows that most of the budget (95.51%) is allocated for waste management facilities at temporary landfills. Meanwhile, the budget for community participation and monitoring is quite small (4.29% and 0.15%), indicating a lack of emphasis on public awareness and monitoring measures. The budget for recycling received alokasi paling kecil dengan persentase 0,04%. Dari sini terlihat, bahwa investasi untuk pemanfaatan sampah sebagai rantai sirkuler dan bernilai ekonomis masih rendah.
So what is done in TPS3R, PDU, TPST, TPS, SPA, PSEL/PLTSa, composting center, biodigester, waste bank, or RDF conversion that sucks up a large budget. If seen from the composition of spending, it can be seen in the following table.
Table of waste management expenses at temporary disposal sites based on type of expenses.
| Shopping Composition | Allocation (Rp) | Allocation (%) |
| Operational Shopping | 7.516.373.376 | 26 % |
| Capital Expenditure | 21.854.830.000 | 74 % |
Source: DPA, DLHK Yogyakarta City Government, 2024 (processed)
The composition above shows that the largest allocation of spending for waste management is capital expenditure. If viewed from the DLH DPA document, the capital expenditure in question is spending on Equipment and Machinery such as Press Machines, Heavy Equipment for Transporting Waste (forklifts), Incinerators, Generators, RDF Waste Processing Equipment, etc.
Meanwhile, the composition for capital expenditure, most of it is allocated for payment of office service expenditure including consultant personnel, processing and security services at TPS, technician services and purchase of BBM Mob-Demmob Heavy Equipment.
Root of the Problem
From many studies and expert opinions, the root of the problem of poor waste management in the city of Yogyakarta actually comes from upstream, namely efforts to sort waste types. Waste disposed of by waste producers, more than 70% is still unsorted waste. On the other hand, the concentration of budget policies has not yet been directed at the root of this problem. This can be seen from the low allocation for recycling which only gets a portion of 0.04%.
In terms of regulation, waste management is actually quite adequate, even in Indonesia waste management is regulated directly through Law Number 18 of 2008 concerning Waste Management. In the city of Yogyakarta, waste management regulations have also been regulated through Yogyakarta City Regulation Number 1 of 2022. Both Law 18 of 2008 and Regulation 1 of 2022 have regulated the reduce, reuse, recycle (3R) approach, including incentives and disincentives for waste producers. However, as usual, the implementation and enforcement of these regulations are still very low.
Recommendation
In order for the waste problem not to become a chronic problem, including changing the waste management approach to economic value, the Yogyakarta City government needs to take progressive steps and targeted budget policies. This is in line with the mandate of Law 18 of 2008, that the government and regional governments are tasked with ensuring the implementation of good and environmentally friendly waste management. Some efforts that can be made include,
- Enforcing regulations such as implementing 3R from upstream, including strict sanctions for those who violate sorting provisions.
- Increasing or providing more focus on regional budget policies on waste management with a recycling approach.
- Facilitating the need for waste sorting and utilization at the upstream level by involving the community with strict supervision.
By: Ahmad Hedar