Jakarta – Residents have complained of foul odors and air pollution as the waste crisis at the Putri Cempo landfill in Surakarta, Central Java, worsens, marking the latest in a growing number of regions facing waste emergencies nationwide.

Andri Priyatno, head of a local neighborhood unit, said landfill operators have spent the past two months dumping waste in the eastern section of the facility, dangerously close to residential areas. At its nearest point, the dumping site is only about 20 meters from homes.

"The landfill has run out of space, so they are dumping waste near residential areas. Residents no longer know how to cope with the stench coming from the landfill," Andi said on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

The stench is reportedly the strongest in the late afternoon and evening. Some residents have even been forced to temporarily leave their homes as they were unable to endure the conditions.

In addition to the odor, Andri said residents have also been affected by air pollution from a waste-to-energy (WtE) facility operating within the landfill. He said the facility's chimney is too short, allowing ash from the combustion process to drift into nearby homes and further degrade environmental conditions.

"The pollution is severe. White smoke from the WtE facility enters residents' homes and turns into very fine ash that settles indoors," he said.

Andri said residents have repeatedly complained to the city administration about the persistent odor and air pollution, but their concerns have gone unanswered.

The situation escalated on Sunday when residents blocked garbage trucks from entering the Putri Cempo landfill. Following the protest, the Surakarta Environmental Agency pledged to remove piles of waste located near residential areas.

The waste crisis at the landfill has been exacerbated by damage to several excavators and a wheel loader used to manage waste within the facility. With much of the machinery out of service, dumping operations have been severely disrupted.

As a result, garbage trucks have been forced to wait for hours before being allowed to enter the landfill. On Monday, the queue of trucks reportedly stretched up to two kilometers, causing significant traffic congestion in surrounding areas.

One landfill worker, Ade Fajar, said the long queues had been occurring for about a week.

"It's been about a week. There's no space left, and the heavy equipment used to push the waste is broken, so operations are slowed," he said.

Another garbage truck driver, Haryanto, said long queues were not uncommon but described the current situation as the worst he had experienced.

"This has happened before and quite often, but this is the longest queue. Mondays are typically busy, but it's never been this bad," he said, as quoted by RRI.

Surakarta Environmental Agency Head Herwin Tri Nugroho said the waste crisis at the Putri Cempo landfill has largely stemmed from damaged heavy equipment at the facility.

"We are working to borrow heavy machinery from other agencies in Surakarta and are seeking short-term solutions, including implementing a scheduling system to prevent garbage trucks from piling up at the landfill," he said.

Every day, roughly 300 tonnes of waste from Surakarta and its surrounding satellite cities are dumped at Putri Cempo, the city's only landfill.

In 2023, a WtE facility was built at the site to help reduce the landfill's burden, which has been at overcapacity since 2010. The facility can process 380-545 tonnes of waste per day, but it currently operates at only 15-20 percent of its capacity because of insufficient household-level waste sorting.

The situation in Surakarta reflects broader challenges nationwide. In recent months, tonnes of unmanaged garbage have clogged roads, drainage systems and rivers in South Tangerang, Banten, prompting authorities there to declare a state of "waste emergency."

Piles of plastic bags and household waste have been reported across South Tangerang since the Environment Ministry ordered a temporary shutdown of the city's final trash disposal site, Cipeucang, on Dec. 10, 2025, citing a failure to properly process waste.

Public frustration over the waste crisis spilled into protest as students dumped dozens of trash bags outside South Tangerang City Hall in December of last year, demanding concrete action from the administration to address the problem.

Bali has faced similar challenges after the Environment Ministry ordered the gradual closure of the Suwung landfill in Denpasar, one of the largest landfills on the island, because of its open-dumping practices.

Following the closure, many residents resorted to waste being dumped into rivers or being burning it at home, leading to widespread environmental pollution.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said on Tuesday that the government will soon develop WtE projects in 34 locations generating at least 1,000 tonnes of waste daily, including Greater Tangerang.

Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled between January and March, and the development will be facilitated by state asset fund Danantara.

However, several environmental groups have criticized the plan. The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) described WtE incineration as a "false solution", arguing that such projects require extensive waste sorting, a large budget and long construction periods. (nal)

Source: https://asianews.network/surakarta-landfill-crisis-highlights-indonesias-growing-waste-problem