Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung decided to freeze the test run of the Rorotan RDF (refuse-derived fuel) waste processing facility in Cilincing, North Jakarta. Residents previously complained about the overpowering odor coming from the site.
Pramono said on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, that the trial would only be stopped temporarily.
According to Pramono Anung, the odor at RDF Rorotan comes not from the waste processing, but from garbage trucks used to transport the waste, as the trash compactors in these trucks cannot be tightly closed.
"Problem arises when the trucks are not compact, causing leachate to spill. This is what causes the smell," said the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
Pramono requested the Environmental Office to use trucks with new model compactors that can be tightly closed for RDF Rorotan. The new test run will proceed once these trucks are available.
The governor claimed residents do not actually oppose the existence of RDF Rorotan in Cilincing, as protests broke out only in the past few days after heavy rainfall poured over the city. "Roughly the past 2-3 days, when the rainfall was high, the waste became wetter and the leachate spilled everywhere," said Pramono.
The surrounding residents of RDF Rorotan had planned to protest on November 10, 2025, demanding that the waste processing activities be stopped due to odor and air pollution.
"This is the second protest, urging for the closure of Rorotan RDF," said Wahyu Andre Maryono, Forum Warga Coordinator, when contacted by Tempo on Monday, November 3, 2025.
The trial process of Rorotan RDF has been ongoing since October 1, 2025. The Jakarta Environmental Office claims that this process is carried out using emission control and odor removal equipment. But Wahyu said the reality is far from that.
"The loading and unloading of waste and its storage in the RDF warehouse or factory still produces a strong odor. We found that these processes are not in line with the agreed-upon standard operational procedures," said Wahyu.
Wahyu mentioned that recently, many trucks are still using old compactor models, causing the leachate to spill out as the doors to the back of the trucks are not tightly closed. This could cause diseases and pollute the environment.
– Alif Ilham Fajriadi contributed to the writing of this article.