On the outskirts of Jakarta, massive peaks of rubbish stretch across more than 100 hectares, towering over nearby villages. Each day, a convoy of trucks dumps about 8,000 tons of garbage into Bantar Gebang, one of Asia's largest landfills. Thousands of people live on the fringe, earning their income by picking through the waste for recyclable materials.
Dangerous Work and Daily Risks
Earlier this year, seven people died when a trash mound collapsed, burying them alive. Rasta, a 55-year-old second-generation waste picker who has worked at the site since it opened in 1989, recalls the event tearfully. "It's just our risk here," he says. "If we don't take the risk, well, then we don't eat."
Andi, 29, and his wife Winah, 43, earn between 100,000 and 200,000 rupiah (about AU$8-16) per day. "Alhamdulillah, I wouldn't say it's a lot, but it's enough for the children's schooling and for our daily food," Andi says. Despite the physical toll, he notes, "Working with friends, you can make a joke out of it."
Livelihoods Built on Waste
Rustini, 48, has spent over three decades collecting recyclables to put her children through school. She says she was "incredibly proud" that one child now works in Taiwan and another is preparing to move to Japan. "Everything [for my children] came from here, from even the smallest items of waste," she says.
Karmidi, 32, started working at the site at age 10. Now married with two children, he uses a hooked pole called a "ganco" to scour waste. "This way, we can work when we please, the trash does not stop," he says. He works at night when it is cooler but more dangerous, weaving between dump trucks and bulldozers.
Government Plans to Close the Landfill
Bantar Gebang is well over capacity, and the government plans to gradually close it starting next year. The Jakarta environmental agency says the goal is to stop accepting general waste by the end of 2027, moving away from open dumping. Residents have been ordered to separate organic waste this year.
Eventually, the site will only receive "residual waste," which will be incinerated in a waste-to-energy plant. This facility is one of over 30 planned by state investment agency Danantara across Indonesia, including in Bali, where construction began this month.
Concerns Over Alternatives
Campaigners question whether viable alternatives will be ready in time. The plants cost billions of dollars and require proper waste segregation, which is rare in Indonesia. In Bali, the closure of Suwung landfill to organic waste in April led to trash piling up on streets and rivers, forcing a partial reversal.
Nur Azizah, a waste management expert from Gadjah Mada University, warns: "Closed without alternatives, then game over, you will see waste everywhere." For waste pickers like Andi, the fear is personal: "I have hopes to make our kids happy, making sure they have enough. If it closes, what choice is there?"
