Accelerating Indonesia’s Energy Transition While Solving an Emerging Waste Crisis: An Analysis of Anaerobic Digestion Potential and Framework Development for Implementation Strategies
Abstract
This study develops a framework for assessing anaerobic digestion as an organic waste treatment technology in Indonesia by evaluating feedstock availability, technological feasibility, policy context, market dynamics and implementation barriers. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods approach, the research integrates quantitative analysis of national and provincial waste generation data with qualitative policy and market assessments to examine the suitability of anaerobic digestion within Indonesia’s waste management context and sustainable development objectives. The study explores anaerobic digestion as a waste treatment solution that delivers environmental and energy co-benefits, including biogas production and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, while prioritizing landfill diversion and waste stabilization. Analysis of regional waste data indicates that Indonesia faces a significant organic waste management challenge with approximately 13.03 million tonnes of organic waste requiring treatment annually. Anaerobic digestion implementation across three phases were reviewed, complementing conceptual scenarios using regional data to demonstrate how anaerobic digestion can tackle Indonesia’s waste crisis while providing a dual benefit of biogas generation. Overall, the findings indicate that regulatory enforcement gaps, feedstock quality constraints, limited waste segregation, and underdeveloped off-taker markets remain critical barriers to anaerobic digestion deployment. In response, the study proposes a strategic implementation framework spanning five key dimensions surrounding regulatory strengthening, technical standards development, market infrastructure enhancement, capacity building, and pilot scale deployment to support the context-appropriate and scalable application of anaerobic digestion as a waste treatment solution in Indonesia.