This study documents a village-level application of the triple helix model for urban waste management after the permanent closure of the Piyungan Landfill in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is among the first studies to explore how waste management programs at the village scale, such as biopore composting, longan tree planting, maggot cultivation, and urban fish farming, can contribute to the circular economy. Using a participatory action research approach with 60 participants from four neighborhood associations, the results show that nearly 100% of organic waste was successfully managed within the community. The programs produced 250 kg of compost, 50 kg of catfish, and 80 kg of tilapia in the first harvest. Furthermore, each tree yielded 85 kg of longans, benefiting the local community. These findings underscore the actual feasibility of community-based circular economy models and provide answers for other urban villages encountering similar waste management issues. The study indicates that combining biological waste solutions with community-driven efforts may serve as a sustainable approach to urban trash management, decreasing reliance on landfills and yielding economic advantages. This model could be scaled and adapted to other urban areas across Indonesia and globally to foster more sustainable, waste-conscious communities.
Sumbodo et al. (2025) studied this question.