Reducing Urban Flood Risk Through Community Waste Management: Garbage Banks, Recycling Centers, and Disaster Resilience in Greater Jakarta
This webinar recording documents the community solid waste management component of the Greater Jakarta Urban Disaster Reduction and Climate Risk Management Project, a joint initiative of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the American Red Cross implemented since 2012. Presented by Andre, the program’s product lead, the session explains how community-based solid waste management is framed not merely as an environmental intervention but as a direct strategy for reducing urban flood risk — particularly in the Ciliwung River watershed, where uncollected waste contributes significantly to river blockages and recurring floods across the greater Jakarta area.
The presentation opens with the urban flood context: Jakarta produces over 5,500 tons of waste daily, of which 11 percent never reaches the final landfill and instead flows into rivers and drainage systems. The government dredged 700 tons of waste from the Ciliwung River in a single month, illustrating the direct link between waste management failure and flood hazard. The program responds to this challenge by intervening at the community level across North Jakarta and Bogor district, using vulnerability and capacity assessments to support communities in identifying waste as a central driver of flood risk and environmental health threats.
The bulk of the presentation details five interconnected community interventions: establishment of community-based action teams (SIBAT); household-level awareness campaigns on waste separation and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle); community Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (3R) centers that process organic waste into compost and transform plastics into marketable handicrafts; community garbage banks that collect, sort, and sell recyclable materials while generating household income and savings; and engagement with local government, universities, and private sector partners including Unilever. The session also highlights the integration of micro-insurance and health services as incentives for garbage bank membership, and discusses gender inclusion, with women playing central roles in garbage bank management in both North Jakarta and Bogor.
The final section offers practical recommendations for replication, emphasizing the importance of community ownership, clear exit strategies, partnerships with local government, and investment in social entrepreneurship capacity for recycling product development and marketing. A Q&A session covers topics including micro-insurance mechanics, incentive structures for household participation, and upstream policy challenges related to producer responsibility for plastic waste.