Indonesia’s Food Waste Equivalent to Rp 330 Trillion (US$22.4 Million) Per Year

Every Indonesian on average throws away the equivalent of Rp 2.1 million (US$142.68) worth of food per year. The results of an analysis by Kompas found that the total value of food waste in Indonesia is Rp 330 trillion per year.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Food waste is the largest type of waste in Indonesia. According to data from the Environment and Forestry Ministry's National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN), in 2020, food waste accounted for 40 percent of the total waste generated by the communities in 199 regencies/cities.

The Kompas daily calculated the amount of food waste using per-capita food-consumption data in regencies/cities from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). BPS data still use food portion units. This unit is then converted into the weight of each portion eaten.

For example, BPS researches the weight of one portion of gado-gado (mixed vegetables) on the www.fatsecret.com website, and finds that it is equivalent to 241 grams.

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To find out the total food consumption in a regency/city, the consumption data per capita is multiplied by the total population in that regency/city, and the resulting figure equals the total food consumption in one regency /city per day.

Next, this data is compared to data on the amount of household food waste from the SIPSN. Finally, one can calculate how much leftover food is not consumed and is thrown away as waste.

Monthly, the consumption per capita of Tangerang City residents is 7,056 g.

For example, in Tangerang City, based on BPS data, total consumption per capita is 235.2 g daily. Meanwhile, based on SIPSN data, per capita food waste in Tangerang City amounts to 111 g daily. Monthly, the consumption per capita of Tangerang City residents is 7,056 g.

Kompas then used BPS data on food consumption per capita in rupiah in order to calculate the monetary value of wasted food. In Tangerang City, the per capita expenditure on food per month is Rp 893,810.

If Rp 893,810 is equivalent to 7,056 g of food, every gram of food in Tangerang City is worth Rp 127. If food waste per capita per day amounts to 111 g, every person in Tangerang City wastes Rp 14,097 per day or around Rp 5 million per year.

Economic loss

By doing the same calculation in 199 regencies/cities, it is found that, on average, each Indonesian person wastes Rp 2,141,614 worth of food per year. In total, the value of food that is thrown away as

waste in 199 regencies/cities in Indonesia amounts Rp 330.71 trillion per year, or equivalent to one-sixth of the state revenue in 2021 (Rp 2,003.1 trillion). This figure is within the range of the calculation results of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) in 2021 which states the amount of Indonesia's economic loss due to food waste is Rp 213 trillion-Rp 551 trillion per year.

KOMPAS/ALBERTUS KRISNA

Engkar (43) is showing packaged food and ready-to-eat food on his terrace on Tuesday (26/04/2022). He can be interrupted by sorting the paper and plastic waste at the Sumur Batu TPA.

In 2020, only 199 out of 514 regencies/cities reported waste composition data in SIPSN. Thus, the food waste situation in Indonesia is likely even worse than the existing data suggest.

In Jakarta, for example, only West Jakarta reported waste composition data to SIPSN. The composition of food waste in West Jakarta amounts to 69.8 percent of the total waste generated by residents every year -- 719,768 tons. The amount of food waste in West Jakarta amounts to 502,183 tons every year.

If the percentage of the composition of food waste in West Jakarta is assumed to be the same as in other areas in Jakarta, every year, 2.13 million tons of food waste are produced by this province. If this food waste was placed in rice boxes, measuring 20 centimeters by 20 cm and 7 cm high, and then arranged on a base as wide as the Monas pedestal (80 meters by 80 m), the height of food waste in Jakarta would equal 1,817 m, exceeding the tallest skyscraper in the world, Burj Al Khalifa (828 m). Food waste in Jakarta would measure 14 times the height of Monas, and reach higher than Mount Kelud (1,731 m above sea level).

If arranged in rice boxes of the aforementioned size and placed on a pedestal of 80 m by 80 m, the height of the waste would be 376 m, exceeding by nine times the height of the Hero Monument (41.15 m).

The food waste situation in other big cities is not much different. In Surabaya, food waste amounts to up to 440,593 tons per year (2020). If arranged in rice boxes of the aforementioned size and placed on a pedestal of 80 m by 80 m, the height of the waste would be 376 m, exceeding by nine times the height of the Hero Monument (41.15 m).

Bad category

According to research by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, the index value of Indonesia's food loss and waste is in a bad category. Every year, Indonesians throw away 300 kilograms of food waste and are ranked in the top three of countries with the greatest food waste, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, based on Bappenas research (2021), the potential for waste generated from food that is wasted before being processed (food loss) and food waste in Indonesia in 2000-2019 reached 23 million-48 million tons per year or equivalent to 115-184 kg per capita per year.

Director of waste management at the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Novrizal Tahar, said there was a need for a campaign to change people's food-waste lifestyles. The Environment and Forestry Ministry has issued a circular to local governments to promote a zero-waste life. Among other advice, it encourages people to eat without leftovers and make compost at home.

KOMPAS/AGUIDO ADRI

Waste production in Jakarta during Ramadan 2019 increased compared to 2018. Food waste dominates the waste that goes to the Bantargembang TPA, Bekasi.

On the other hand, the Jakarta provincial government is drafting a legal instrument with the intention of reducing the excess food waste of business actors.

The head of the Jakarta Environmental Agency, Asep Kuswanto, said this instrument would take the form of a governor's regulation. "So, from shops -- rice stalls -- which, when they are about to close, they still have a lot of food …. the Environment Agency can pick up the excess food, with NGOs involved as well. We hope that this excess food will not be wasted and become garbage,” said Asep. (PUT/XNA/SPW)

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)