MWRP Indonesia: Combining Extended Producer Responsibility with Extended Stakeholder Responsibility

In Semarang, the capital city of the Central Java province of Indonesia, 13% of the city’s solid waste is either burned or improperly disposed of throughout the city. In 2015, the Government of Indonesia introduced its Long-Term National Urban Development Plan which included a 30% national recycling target by 2025. Despite this initiative, the recycling rate in Semarang remains low. With a grant from USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program, the Bina Karta Lestari Foundation (BINTARI) is working to change this situation by improving the local recycling capacity of urban neighborhoods, integrating Extended Stakeholder Responsibility (ESR) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy approaches and strengthening the coordination between independent waste collectors and companies involved in the city’s solid waste management (SWM) system.

Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships

BINTARI is launching an EPR / ESR framework working with PT Indofood, a large national food producer.The EPR / ESR framework involves the producers, but also other relevant stakeholders (e.g., retailers, consumers, and the government) in designing and implementing best practices in recycling and waste management that will lead to a significant increase in the collection and recycling of thin, low-value plastics. With key inputs from shop owners, waste collectors, and recyclers, BINTARI and Indofood are collaborating to develop a viable subsidy mechanism that will result in a significant increase in the collection and recycling of thin, low-value plastics that typically end up in the city’s waterways.

Improving Semarang’s Solicy Waste Management Capacity

The project is assisting the Semarang city government with policymaking on SWM and recycling, while also improving the practices and capacities of recycling stakeholders to effectively support the recycling value chain. In addition, BINTARI is expanding and building the capacity of community-organized waste banks through training on business practices and by linking these banks to private sector recyclers and coordinating garbage collection with the city’s SWM operation.