Mass flow and recovery efficiency analysis of community-based waste management in Batu, Indonesia: a case study

Effective waste management in low-income countries requires collaboration among diverse stakeholders and the integration of social, economic, and technological strategies. Community-based waste management (CBWM) is an initiative that promotes local responsibility for waste management to reduce the burden on governments and extend the lifespans of landfills. However, a substantial proportion of CBWM activities are not captured in official waste-data systems, which complicates rigorous analyses of recycling performance. This study aimed to investigate the waste flows and resource-recovery performance in a CBWM system in Dadaprejo Village, Batu, Indonesia, by comparing a centralized waste-processing facility (TPS 3 R Dadaprejo Mandiri, DM-TPS) with decentralized waste banks. It further examines contributions of different resource types and assesses the potential impacts of increased household participation in source separation. DM-TPS achieved a higher recycling rate (9.36%) than the waste banks (1.28% and 1.06%). Based on the scenario analysis, full household participation in source separation through WB-I could increase the overall recycling rate of the CBWM system from 10.5% to 28.1%. These findings highlight the need to expand household participation in source separation to further improve resource recovery rates.