Indonesia is now facing a very serious waste problem. In March 2026, a terrible accident happened at the Bantargebang landfill near Jakarta. Seven sanitation workers died after a huge pile of garbage collapsed on them.
The question is, have you ever wondered such kind of thing to ever happen in this civilized world? Let’s talk about it. Six other people were injured. Bantargebang is not a small landfill. It is the biggest landfill in Indonesia and one of the largest in Southeast Asia. The area is as large as 200 football fields, and some mountains of trash are more than 50 meters high.
After the disaster, many people started asking difficult questions. Why were workers still working in such dangerous conditions? Why had the landfill become so overloaded?
Indonesian authorities then started criminal investigations against two former environmental officials connected to waste management problems in Jakarta and Bali.
The tragedy became an important moment for Indonesia. It showed that the country’s waste crisis is no longer only about dirty streets or bad smells.
It is now also about public safety, human lives, and environmental damage. President Prabowo Subianto later declared a national “war on waste” and promised major changes across the country.
The post “Indonesia’s ‘War on Waste’ at the Bantargebang” appeared earlier on Earth Buddies. Read the whole piece at Indonesia’s “War on Waste” at the Bantargebang. The story was first published here and here in Indonesian on April 14 and 24, 2026.
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