Toward a Sustainable Zero-Waste Zone: A Multidimensional Analysis of Social, Legal, Technical, and Infrastructure Readiness in Applying the 3r Principle in Bandung City

Background Urban waste management in Indonesia, including in Bandung City, is still dominated by the collect–transport–dispose pattern, causing the Sarimukti Landfill to face overcapacity risk. The Zero-Waste Zone Program was developed as a community-based strategy to apply the Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (3R) Principle, but comprehensive studies on area readiness across scientific perspectives remain limited. Method This descriptive study used a gap analysis approach in seven Bandung City subdistricts (Panyileukan, Bandung Kidul, Cibeunying Kaler, Arcamanik, Sumur Bandung, Bojongloa Kidul, and Gedebage), comparing factual field conditions with ideal conditions across four readiness variables (social, institutional, technical, and government support), assessed with a modified Likert scale and categorized via class-interval calculation (Sturges’ rule). Findings were then discussed through a multidisciplinary review (urban and regional planning, legal, environmental geology, chemical engineering, sociological, and construction project management) drawing on secondary literature to enrich interpretation. Results The Zero-Waste Zone readiness index ranged from 40.38% to 57.69%. Panyileukan, Bandung Kidul, Sumur Bandung, and Gedebage fell into the fairly ready category, while Cibeunying Kaler, Arcamanik, and Bojongloa Kidul fell into the not ready category. Technical readiness consistently showed the largest gap across all study areas. The multidisciplinary review revealed that this gap is linked to cross-jurisdictional regulatory and financing uncertainty, geo-hydrological risks at regional landfill facilities, limited waste-processing engineering, social capital and gender disparities in community participation, and weak post-construction infrastructure risk management. Conclusions The readiness of Zero-Waste Zones in Bandung City results from cross-disciplinary interaction that cannot be resolved through regional planning alone. Strengthening it requires cross-institutional, cross-expertise collaboration encompassing legal and financing certainty, geo-environmental risk mitigation, stronger process engineering, stronger social capital and gender equity, and more mature infrastructure project management.