Jakarta's Bantar Gebang landfill faces closure, threatening livelihoods of thousands of waste pickers

Indonesia's government plans to close the over-capacity Bantar Gebang landfill by 2027, leaving thousands of waste pickers uncertain about their future.

• Seven waste pickers died earlier this year after a trash mound collapsed at Bantar Gebang.
• President Prabowo Subianto declared a national "war" on waste in February 2026.
• The Jakarta environmental agency said the government wants to close Bantar Gebang to general waste by the end of 2027.
• Waste picker Rasta said the risk of working at the landfill is necessary to eat.