How CLOCC’s Waste Masterplan in Banyuwangi Became Regional Policy

In Banyuwangi, East Java, a regency of 1.7 million people generating over 850 tonnes of waste daily, plastic pollution once leaked unchecked into the environment. Prior to the CLOCC project, an estimated 666 tonnes of waste per day were dumped or burned in open spaces or discarded into waterways. But with the support of the Clean Oceans through Clean Communities (CLOCC) programme, this is begin to change.

Handing over the Waste Masterplan

Plastic pollution cannot be solved by infrastructure alone. That is why CLOCC uses a participatory methodology grounded in the principles of Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM). Over three years, CLOCC collaborated with a wide range of stakeholders in Banyuwangi, from community leaders and informal waste workers to regional planners and national associations, to establish a clear picture of the waste situation in Banyuwangi. Towards the middle of 2021, CLOCC established a data baseline for Banyuwangi, Indonesia. The study, undertaken in cooperation with CLOCC’s local partner InSWA (Indonesia Solid Waste Association) and local stakeholder as surveyors, found that 853 tonnes of waste is generated daily in Indonesia’s Banyuwangi regency. Over 78% or 666 tonne per day is leaking into the environment, through burial, burning, disposal on waste ground or into water bodies. This waste baseline study would serve to guide the rest of the CLOCC program in Banyuwangi and building a unified vision for sustainable waste management and governance. 

The creation of the Banyuwangi Waste Management Masterplan was a deeply collaborative, transparent process designed to build both legitimacy and long-term local ownership. It began in late 2020, when the CLOCC team, together with the Government of Banyuwangi Regency, convened a series of multi-stakeholder workshops to align on objectives for the future of waste management in the region. In December 2022, a high-level workshop was held to finalize the draft plan, followed by its formal submission to the Regency and Regent decree formalization process. 

Banyuwangi Waste Masterplan - Click to Download

In June 2023, the plan was opened for public consultation, with over 120 participants, including local agencies, ministries, and civil society, all providing feedback on technical, regulatory, financial, and institutional components. Developed by local stakeholders, facilitated by the Indonesian Solid Waste Association (InSWA), and coordinated by Sirk Norge, the plan represents Indonesia’s first waste masterplan that has been legalized and follow the key pillars of Integrated Sustainable Waste Management: regulatory, institutional, financial, socio-cultural, and technological.

This inclusive approach ensured the plan’s eventual adoption as a Regent Decree, formalizing it as the official waste management strategy for the next 20 years. Crucially, the plan is not vulnerable to political turnover, it is a binding framework designed to persist beyond election cycles. It also supports Banyuwangi’s strategic vision to become a clean, international tourist destination by 2046.

“The key message throughout this process is that this plan belongs to Banyuwangi—it was built together, and it will be implemented together.” said Mr. Amrulloh, Director of Waste and Sanitation, Banyuwangi Regency when the waste masterplan was formally handed over in 2024. 

This marks a critical shift to towards a formal, regulated, systemic approach that is enforceable, financed, and embedded in law. It is hoped that the other regencies (Tabanan, Tegal) involved in the CLOCC programme will follow in the footsteps by formalising waste masterplans. 

“Before these interventions, waste systems were informal, inconsistent, and often unregulated. Households disposed of waste however they could: burning, burying, dumping. Law enforcement was rare, and conflicts over dumping or facility siting were common. In some areas, basic governance questions like who should operate and fund waste services had no clear answers.” Said Andik Mochamad Satya Oktamalandi (Andik) CLOCC Project Manager, InSWA (Indonesian Solid Waste Association) in a recent article for the CLOCC website. 

“But after five years of engagement with local governments and communities in Indonesia, we are seeing growing local capacity, strong community engagement, and a shift in mindset: that waste systems are public services worthy of investment and long-term planning.”

Since its formal adoption, CLOCC’s masterplan is being co-implemented by all Banyuwangi stakeholders, and become Rijig Pradana Wetan (RPW) mission, a new foundation established as a result of the CLOCC program. The implementation of the waste masterplan has seen steady improvement in 14 of CLOCC Banyuwangi pilot villages:

• 15,000 households now have access to formal waste collection for the first time.

• 43 tonnes of waste per day are diverted from burning and open dumping.

• Waste is processed responsibly at revived TPS3R facilities (Material Recovery Facilities), where recyclables and organics are recovered.

• Local capacity has grown: village leaders, youth groups, and informal workers are educated and mobilized to take ownership and responsibility for the local waste system.

  
  

CLOCC's model does not impose external systems. Instead, it builds on what’s working, fix what’s broken, and adding what’s missing. This approach encouraging governance, reviving idle infrastructure, building local capacity, and strengthening community ownership, all while aligning with national and regional policy goals.

CLOCC’s work in Banyuwangi proves that integrated waste planning, when community-led and legally anchored, can reduce plastic pollution at scale. It also shows that real change comes not from top-down directives or technology exports, but from local ownership, inclusive planning, and strong legal frameworks. With renewed investment, CLOCC stands ready to work with other regencies and municipalities to formalise the principles of ISWM into legislation.