A Gap Analysis in Selected Asian Countries, 3R Knowledge Hub ...

The Compost Subsidy Project plans to reduce
20-40% of the solid waste generated before
reaching the landfill site. A different scenario
has been reported in Surabaya and Jakarta
where environmental cadres are engaged to
ensure the proper management of waste. These
cadres are mostly from nearby schools or
universities. This comprehensive program has
showed remarkable progress in managing
household solid waste through segregation and
community level composting. This program
also promoted waste awareness and green
concepts by organising a ‘Go Green School
Program’ where different schools compete for
“environmentally sound schools”.
HEALTHCARE WASTE
In most cases, a large percentage of healthcare
waste is classified as general waste and
disposed in municipal dumpsites. To minimize
the risk to public health, waste segregation as
well as infectious waste treatment prior to
disposal needs to be conducted properly by the
hospital management, especially when
scavenging takes place in dumpsites.
Representatives from the Government of
Indonesia maintain that the mission of the
healthcare waste program is to reduce and
prevent as much as possible the production of
healthcare waste and treat it in an appropriate
manner to prevent environmental pollution
and adverse health impacts. The basic principle
of healthcare waste management is that
healthcare institutions, as generators of waste,
have an obligation to manage and prevent the
impacts that may be caused by the waste, either
in terms of costs, or in terms of any sanctions to
meet the requirements of the law.
Findings
In 1992, the Ministry of Health issued
Regulation No. 986 along with the National
Standard and Guidelines for Hospital
Sanitation Management including healthcare
waste management. Subsequently, in 1994, the
Government issued Government Regulation
No. 19 dealing with the management of
hazardous wastes. Some of the basic elements
were the obligation of the hazardous waste
producers to treat the hazardous wastes and in
case that the producer does not have the
capacity or the equipment to treat the waste,
then the producer must assume the
responsibility to transfer the waste to a
treatment center and to pay for any costs
associated with the transportation and
treatment required. However, the major
stumbling block is the implementation of this
law and regulations due to the lack of strict
provisions in the law.
There is a strong need to develop a consistent
approach to healthcare waste management.
Necessary steps have been taken to implement
a long-term program to conduct an action
research in developing a network for
hazardous waste collection. The level of public
awareness in the healthcare waste management
is still in the preliminary stage. World Health
Organization, Indonesia with support from the
European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid
Office (ECHO), helped the local authorities
implement the project ‘Clinical Waste
Management in the Earthquake and Tsunami
Affected Area of Northern Sumatra’. From past
records, it is not clear how much healthcare
waste is generated in Indonesia.
E-WASTE
Community waste collection, Kampung
Sukunan Yogyakarta
Image source: Muhammad Zakaria, 3RKH
Inception Workshop, Hanoi 2007
Preliminary research by the Basel Action
Network reveals that besides China, most ewaste
exports are to Indonesia, India and
Pakistan where they are processed in
operations that are extremely harmful to human
health and the environment. Even as the
domestic electronic waste issue remains
unattended, the export of hazardous waste such
as outdated printed circuit boards, floppies and
tons of copper sludge is going on in connivance
with the authorities.
Chapter 3: Country Analysis
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