Bekasi signs waste processing deal for Burangkeng landfill

By Rara Suratmi

The Bekasi regency government in West Java signed a cooperation agreement with PT Asiana Technologies Lestary to process up to 1,000 tons of waste per day at the Burangkeng landfill through landfill mining and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) projects.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday as part of efforts to address mounting waste management challenges in Bekasi, one of Indonesia’s largest industrial regions.

Bekasi Environmental Agency head Syafri Donny Sirait said the Burangkeng landfill is facing severe overcapacity, requiring a shift from conventional waste disposal methods to more sustainable waste processing systems.

Under the project, old waste deposits at the landfill will be excavated through landfill mining to restore landfill capacity, while new and processed waste will be converted into RDF as an alternative industrial fuel to replace coal.

Donny said the project is designed around circular economy principles, transforming waste into energy and economic resources.

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 “Burangkeng landfill is expected to transform into a renewable energy facility for industries in Bekasi,” he said.

Asiana Technologies Lestary is an environmental technology company established in 2001 that develops waste management and waste-to-energy systems. The company currently operates waste processing facilities in Rorotan, TB Simatupang, Bantar Gebang, and the Thousand Islands area, and also provides flood control systems in more than 50 locations across Indonesia.

The Bekasi government said the project differs from the public-private partnership schemes commonly used in waste management projects elsewhere in Indonesia, where local governments typically pay tipping fees averaging Rp250,000 (US$15) per ton .

With processing capacity reaching 1,000 tons per day, such a scheme could have cost the regional budget around Rp143 billion ($8 million) annually, according to the agency.

Instead, Bekasi said it will not pay tipping fees under the agreement and expects to generate around Rp1 billion ($60,000) in regional revenue from use of landfill land for the waste processing operation.

The regency government said Bekasi has become one of the first regions in Indonesia to simultaneously implement landfill mining for legacy waste and waste-to-energy processing for newly generated waste.

Editing by Alexander Ginting