Why Indonesia’s waste-to-energy goal may not be ‘quick fix’ for landfill crisis
With billions to be spent on new waste-to-energy plants, critics are questioning the potential cost to Indonesian cities and the environment
Danantara, the Indonesian state wealth fund, on Friday announced that it had chosen Wangneng Environment as the operator of a WtE plant in the city of Bekasi, while Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection would operate a similar facility in Denpasar, the capital of Bali province.
“Today’s announcement marks an important step in ensuring waste-to-energy facilities are managed to the highest standards of operational reliability, safety and accountability,” Pandu Sjahrir, chief investment officer in Danantara, said in a statement.
The two companies were selected from a field of more than 200 foreign bidders, with 24 making the shortlist in December, including firms from China, Japan and France.
In October, Pandu said that Indonesia’s WtE incineration process would be modelled on China, whose plants helped it manage a surge in waste generation in 2007-08.
China currently operates more than 1,000 incineration facilities, processing over 1.1 million tonnes of waste daily.