Why Indonesia’s waste-to-energy goal may not be ‘quick fix’ for landfill crisis

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Resty Woro YuniarMarch 12, 2026 at 05:00 AM

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Indonesia has selected two Chinese companies, Wangneng Environment and Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection, to operate waste-to-energy (WtE) plants in Bekasi and Denpasar, respectively. This initiative, spearheaded by President Prabowo Subianto, aims to address Indonesia's growing landfill crisis and generate energy. Danantara, the Indonesian state wealth fund, oversaw the selection process, choosing the companies from a pool of over 200 international bidders. The decision to model Indonesia's WtE incineration process after China, which has successfully utilized the technology to manage waste, has sparked debate regarding the costs, efficiency, and overall effectiveness of the country's waste reduction strategies. China currently processes over 1.1 million tonnes of waste daily through more than 1,000 incineration plants.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

France 30% Japan 30% Bali 40% Denpasar 50% Bekasi 50% Danantara ×260% Wangneng Environment 60% Pandu Sjahrir ×260% Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection 60% China ×370% Prabowo Subianto 70% Indonesia ×390%

Keywords

waste-to-energy 100% wte projects 90% landfill crisis 80% waste management 70% indonesia 60% incineration 60% chinese companies 50% energy 40% waste reduction 40%

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Neutral

Score: 0.10

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Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Indonesia

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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waste-to-energy wte projects landfill crisis waste management indonesia incineration chinese companies energy waste reduction

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