Petitioner and his legal counsel delivering the revised petition on the judicial review of Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management on Monday (20/7). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

Jakarta (MKRI) - Dudy Mempawardi Saragih submitted a revised petition for judicial review of Article 11 paragraph (1) letter b of Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management to the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday, July 20, 2026. The petitioner, an advocate, seeks a constitutional interpretation requiring state administrators to respond immediately to public complaints regarding the accumulation of waste.

“Declare that the word ‘supervision’ in Article 11 paragraph (1) letter b of Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia of 2008 No. 69, Supplement to the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia No. 4851) is contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and has no binding legal force unless it is interpreted to mean ‘including complaints submitted by citizens regarding waste accumulation, which must be responded to immediately by state administrators,’” said Iskandar, counsel for the petitioner, during the Petition Revision Hearing in Case No. 255/PUU-XXIV/2026.

Article 11 paragraph (1) letter b of the Waste Management Law provides, “Every person shall have the right to: (b) participate in decision-making, implementation, and oversight in the field of waste management.” Through his petition, the petitioner requests a new interpretation of the word “oversight” in the provision so that it is understood to include “complaints submitted by citizens regarding waste accumulation, which must be responded to immediately by state administrators.”

The petitioner claims to have suffered constitutional harm due to the absence of a national standard guaranteeing the availability of complaint channels for waste accumulation in every region. According to the petitioner, the lack of a nationwide legal guarantee under the Waste Management Law has left the exercise of his right to supervision in a condition of fragile legal uncertainty.

As a result of Article 11 paragraph (1) letter b of the Waste Management Law, which the petitioner argues is formulated in abstract terms without requiring a nationally standardized complaint mechanism, he has suffered a violation of his constitutional rights in the form of exposure to the risks posed by illegally accumulated waste along routes he regularly uses for morning exercise while enjoying mountain views when weather permits. The absence of a nationwide complaint mechanism that the State is obliged to respond to immediately has, according to the petitioner, deprived him of a legal instrument to promptly restore his right to a clean, healthy, and hygienic environment.

In practice, the petitioner noted that the West Java Provincial Government has demonstrated political will to facilitate prompt public complaints concerning waste accumulation through the Sapawarga application, which is based on West Java Governor Decree Number 188.44/Kep.026.PPD/2019. However, the petitioner’s complaint submitted through Sapawarga was redirected to SP4N-LAPOR!, which is managed by the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (PAN-RB).

According to the petitioner, while his rights are facilitated in a digitally advanced province such as West Java, those rights become uncertain in other regions where the availability of digital public services is unknown. Consequently, if he travels, relocates, or changes his domicile outside West Java, he immediately loses legal certainty regarding where and how to report incidents of illegal waste accumulation that he encounters.

Also read:

Retiree Challenges Absence of Standardized Complaint Mechanism for Waste Accumulation

The hearing was presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, alongside Justices Adies Kadir and Liliek Prisbawono Adi. Before adjourning the hearing, the Panel of Justices officiated the evidence submitted by the petitioner.

Case tracking: Petition No. 255/PUU-XXIV/2026 (in Indonesian)

Author: Mimi Kartika
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Andhini S.F.

Translator: Rizky Kurnia Chaesario

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.