Waste Management Comparison in Sweden and Padang

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Name: Aliffa Oktanofrida Hade NIM: 2110942011

Class: TL KBI

Waste Management Comparison in Sweden and Padang

A. Waste Management in Sweden

The generation of MSW in Sweden peaked in 2008, reaching 4.46 million tons. In the following years the generation fell, to 4.27 million tons in 2011 and further to 4.25 million tons in 2014. It has been argued that one possible explanation for the reduction is the economic recession, as reduced consumption inevitably leads to reduced waste. The amounts of generated and treated MSW reported to Eurostat have been equal since 2001 (EEA, 2016).

Sweden has 290 municipalities that are responsible for collection and treatment of municipal solid waste (household waste). Each municipality in Sweden is obligated to ensure that household type of waste is transported and recycled or disposed of. This includes waste types that do not fall under the Extended Producers Responsibility such as residual waste, organic waste, food waste, bulky waste, and household hazardous waste (Naturvardsverket, 2023).

Municipalities are free to organize waste management themselves. About 40 % of municipalities organize their waste management within the municipal organization while 60

% collaborate with other municipalities. The collaboration is done in various forms through municipal associations, joint political boards, and municipal enterprises. In some municipalities, the collection and treatment of waste is primarily carried out by private contractors (Naturvardsverket, 2023).

The collection is conducted in different ways, adapted to the varied conditions in different municipalities, depending on whether it is a city, rural countryside, or less populated areas.

Generally, the municipalities collect household residual waste and food waste using bins and containers through doorstep collection systems. Bulky waste including garden waste and household hazardous waste is collected through municipal recycling centers that households can drive through and drop off many waste fractions. Most municipalities offer collection of bulky waste and in some cases hazardous waste by providing doorstep collection (Naturvardsverket, 2023).

Collected waste is for the most part treated in Sweden. Residual waste is incinerated. Food waste is sent for anaerobic digestion. Garden waste is for the most part composted. Bulky waste is separated into different fractions and either materially recycled, incinerated, or landfilled (mostly inert waste is landfilled) (Naturvardsverket, 2023).

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Policy Instruments for Waste Management at Local Level

The policy instruments for waste management in Sweden at local level are (Naturvardsverket, 2023):

 The local waste regulations: Every municipality is obliged to adopt a local waste regulation. In the local waste regulation, municipalities regulate what type of infrastructure to provide for waste management locally and how households and individuals should source separate and handle waste. The local waste regulation is decided by politicians represented at the municipal council.

 The municipal waste plans: Since 1994, each municipality is responsible for drafting a municipal waste plan. The plan must cover all waste in the municipality, both household waste and other types of waste. The plan needs to set out targets, measures, and instruments for preventing and managing waste. The plan should also contain a description of the current situation that affects the amount and composition of the waste, as well as an assessment of the future development of waste streams.

 Waste fees: Municipalities finance local waste management by municipal waste fees.

The level of the waste fees is decided by the municipal council. The municipal waste management fee covers the municipality's costs for containers, collection, transport, treatment, recycling centers, information, planning and administration. The fee can be differentiated to motivate recycling. The property owner pays the charge, which is based on the principle of self-sufficiency. The municipality's waste management should not be profitable, and the collected funds should be used exclusively for local waste management. The funds are not allowed to be used for provision of other local services, such as street cleaning services for example.

B. Waste Management in Padang

The city of Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra Province, has a population of 982,884 people as of 2021. Field studies conducted show that waste generation in the city reaches 660.50 tons/day while the volume of waste disposed of at the Final Processing Site (TPA) Aia Dingin in 2021 will be 478 tons/day, or 72.4% of the total waste generated. Only 7.0% is recycled; 0.4% composted; and the remaining 20.2% is burned, dumped, or leaked into the environment. As the generation of mixed waste increases due to little or no practice of

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segregating waste at source, the Aia Dingin TPA is predicted to reach full capacity in 2026 even though it was originally designed to operate until 2030. The life of the landfill is shortened and valuable resources are wasted economically. In addition, the increasing amount of waste is burdening the city budget (IGES Center, 2023).

Efforts to establish and improve community-based waste banks and TPS3R for each urban village are expected to reduce waste going to TPA. However, based on preliminary studies and interviews, there are currently no active TPS3R and most waste banks do not collect enough recyclables to generate a profit due to lack of community participation and insufficient funds for operations. Some members of the community still throw or burn their waste in the open, causing air and water pollution (IGES Center, 2023).

Due to this situation, Padang issued a strategic policy (JAKSTRADAs 2017-2025) which aims to achieve a 30% reduction in waste and ensure that 70% of its waste is handled adequately by 2025, so that the city is in line with the National Policy and Strategy for the Development of a Solid Waste Management System in 2017-2025 (JAKSTRANs). The City of Padang is also promoting a Circular Economy Program, with a focus on the 5Rs: reducing or optimizing the use of natural raw materials (Reduce), reusing materials and products (Reuse), changing used materials and products into new products (Recycle), recovering materials and products used in the form of materials and energy (Recovery), and improve products so they can be used longer (Repair). To support this program and to reduce plastic waste and plastic pollution in the sea, regulations to limit the use of single-use plastic bags were issued in 2018 (IGES Center, 2023).

To achieve the targets set in JAKSTRADA, an integrated solid waste management action plan has been prepared in Padang City (2023-2030) in collaboration with Andalas University and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) West Sumatra and with financial and technical support from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan; United Nations Environment Program International Environmental Technology Center (UNEP-IETC); IGES Center Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET); and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) (IGES Center, 2023).

Cooperation and collaboration from various stakeholders are very important to ensure the successful implementation of the plan, so that the city can be clean and free of waste. Padang will continue to strive to gather participation from all organizations and communities to

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implement this action plan, which is expected to contribute to an environmentally conscious society on the island of Sumatra and Indonesia as a whole (IGES Center, 2023).

C. Comparison Between Waste Management in Sweden and Padang

Based on the existing conditions, the waste management in Sweden can be applied in Padang.

In fact, they have attempted to apply similar actions, such as improving waste banks and constructing TPS3R in each urban village as one of the ways to reduce waste being transported to TPA. However, it failed to be implemented in Padang, but successfully implemented in Sweden due to one major factor: communal awareness. The citizens in Sweden were aware of the waste problem they were facing and the potential consequences, therefore they were willing to follow what the government instructed them to do. In addition to that, in Padang, several policy instruments have been applied, such as implementing regulations, but they were not strict enough, which to the point that several individuals still managed to get away with it.