Presiding over a flood of waste : a case study on a local movement for domestic waste management at the household level, Bandung City, Indonesia

Sammanfattning: Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a profound environmental issue in Indonesia. Approximately 69% of Indonesian municipal waste is transported to landfill sites. These sites infuse surrounding ecosystems with toxic compounds, degrade land quality and lead to health and sanitation issues. These factors when combined with poor domestic waste treatment and increased flood susceptibility during the rainy season, leads to serious water management issues. Therefore a project, established by a non-governmental organisation, encouraged local people to practice good domestic waste management at the household level. The case study was conducted in Bandung City, Indonesia, where residents managed their household waste using a waste bank method. Waste banks encourage householders to sort their waste, thereby minimising waste volumes transported to landfill sites. The study was based on an adaptive co-management concept where both primary and secondary sources were used. The study analysed the contribution of waste banks to overcome waste problems and to analyse factors necessary for improvement. The goal of any waste bank programme is the encouragement of key behaviours; user awareness of domestic waste self-management, raising user responsibilities and implementing more sustainable domestic waste management practices. Based on the findings of this study, the waste bank project extended learning opportunities for non-governmental organisations, supporting stakeholders and residents. The project also potentially reached sustainable development goals for responsible consumption and production. However, a barrier to the project was the lack of incentive and political willingness to enforce policies. The outcome of this research will help local authorities and related stakeholders to improve domestic household waste management.