Jakarta (ANTARA) – Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Akhmad Wiyagus emphasized the importance of regions' firmness in executing policies and strengthening synergy with other regions to tackle the waste problem.He noted that the existing regulations have provided spaces for regions to build collaboration, including Government Regulation Number 27 of 2020 on Specific Waste Management.”Various regulations on regional cooperation can serve as a shared legal umbrella for us,” he said in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday.He made the remarks during the “Sustainable Waste Management: A Case Study on Waste Agglomeration” discussion organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs' Domestic Policy Strategy Agency (BSKDN) in Jakarta.Wiyagus stressed that waste management is not merely a technical issue but a regional development challenge with wide-ranging impacts.He warned that inadequate waste handling could threaten environmental sustainability, public health, and even social and economic stability at the regional level.Therefore, he urged regional governments to take immediate concrete action and not hesitate to establish partnerships with other regions.Meanwhile, BSKDN Head Yusharto Huntoyungo expressed hope that regional governments would stop addressing waste issues in a fragmented manner.He encouraged regions to adopt an agglomeration approach to build an integrated and sustainable waste management system.Such an approach, he said, is in line with Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management, which calls for a paradigm shift from the traditional “collect, transport, and dump” model to treating waste as a resource.“Waste generation continues to increase every year, outpacing the capacity of regional governments to manage it. Under these conditions, transforming the waste management system is a necessity,” Yusharto said.According to the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) of the Ministry of Environment, as of January 15, 2026, a total of 194 districts and cities across Indonesia had reported their waste generation in 2025, which reached 19.3 million tons.