Pengelolaan Sampah: Ujian Nyata Transisi Negara dan Konstitusi

Waste never participates in elections. It has no party, nor does it have billboards. Yet it is from the pile of waste that we can test: is a country truly in transition, or merely changing jargon.

In a country that claims to be moving towards green governance, smart cities, and sustainable economies, waste stands as a silent witness—it cannot be polished with speeches. Waste can only be managed or neglected. And that is where constitutional law operates, or is indeed tested.

In the perspective of constitutional law siyāsah, waste is not merely a technical issue of cleanliness, but rather an indicator of the presence or absence of the state in the most basic life of its citizens. Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia emphasizes the right of every person to a good and healthy environment. When waste accumulates, it is not just the aesthetics of the city that collapses—but the promise of the constitution.

Political transition, decentralization of power, and regional autonomy should shorten the distance between the state and its citizens. However, in reality, waste management is often thrown into a gray area of authority: the center blames the regions, the regions blame the budget, and the budget blames the awareness of the people.

Here, waste becomes a testing tool for transition: does the change in the system truly give birth to governance, or does it merely shift problems from one table to another.

In the tradition of Islamic siyāsah, cleanliness is not just a personal ethic, but a public matter and a political issue of power. The state is responsible for the order of the living space of society.

Cleanliness is part of faith.

Translation: cleanliness is part of faith.

This hadith is often reduced to an individual moral slogan. However, from the perspective of siyāsah, collective faith is manifested through public policies that ensure a clean, healthy, and dignified living space.

The Qur'an even gives a clear ecological warning:

Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned. (QS. Ar-Rūm: 41)

Translation:

Damage has been observed on land and at sea caused by human actions.

Waste is a form of modern corruption: it arises from overproduction, uncontrolled consumption, and a state that is slow to act.

State Present or Absent?

From the perspective of constitutional law, waste management is a concurrent government function—a real test of the principle of decentralization. Local governments are not merely technical implementers, but constitutional mandate holders to ensure the ecological welfare of their citizens.

If markets, roads, and rivers become garbage dumps, it is not solely the failure of the citizens. It is a failure of the design of authority and public policy.

The state may talk about downstream processing, energy transition, and even artificial intelligence. But as long as waste is still managed in a 'collect-and-dispose' manner, that transition is fragile from its roots.

Regulation: It's Already There, Just the Guts Needed

Normatively, Indonesia is not lacking in laws:

The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia Article 28H paragraph (1) – The right to a good and healthy environment

Law Number 18 of 2008 on Waste Management

Law Number 23 of 2014 on Regional Government

Government Regulation Number 81 of 2012 on Household Waste Management

Presidential Regulation Number 97 of 2017 on the National Policy and Strategy for Household Waste Management and Similar Household Waste (Jakstranas)

Ministerial Regulation of Environment and Forestry Number 75 of 2019 on the Roadmap for Waste Reduction by Producers

The problem is not the absence of regulations, but the absence of political courage to enforce and integrate them.

Umar bin Khattab once reminded:

“If a donkey were to get stuck in Iraq, I worry that God would ask me why I didn't pave the road for it.”

In today's context, waste is that “donkey” that is stuck—it is waiting for a country willing to take responsibility.

From the modern world, Mahatma Gandhi said:

And Vaclav Havel struck at the conscience of transitional countries:

From the modern world, Mahatma Gandhi said:

“The earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

“The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

And Václav Havel struck at the conscience of transitional countries:

“The real test of a society is how it treats what it throws away.”

“The true test of a society is what it does with what it throws away.”

Waste and the Future of Transition

Waste teaches us one thing: transition is not measured by skyscrapers, but by landfills. A country that is serious about transitioning will make waste a constitutional issue, not just a matter for the sanitation department.

If waste is managed fairly, participatively, and sustainably, then the country is moving forward. But if waste continues to pile up—in markets, in rivers, in policies—then the transition is just a smelly illusion.

And a constitution, like waste, cannot be deceived for long.

in Opinion