Sirkularium

Excavated mining terrain with exposed soil layers

Sustainable Resources13 July 2026

Indonesia opens mining to cooperatives, leaving reclamation guarantees an open question

On National Cooperatives Day, July 13, 2026, Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono told the assembled crowd that Indonesian cooperatives can, for the first time, manage strategic natural resource sectors once reserved for state enterprises and large private companies. Mineral and coal mining sits at the centre of that expansion. Community oil wells and crude palm oil processing were folded into the same announcement, alongside President Prabowo Subianto, who used the event to describe a vision of cooperatives running warehouses, cold storage, delivery fleets, and retail outlets across rural Indonesia.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 9 min read

A large open landfill site with waste piled in mounds

Waste & Pollution13 July 2026

Coordinating minister seeks presidential decree to clear Indonesia's waste mountains

On Sunday, 12 July 2026, Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, addressed a civil society dialogue in Wonosobo Regency, Central Java, titled "Untuk Ketahanan Pangan dan Kelestarian Lingkungan" (For Food Security and Environmental Sustainability). Waste management dominated his remarks. He told the audience the government intends to resolve the country's largest waste piles in stages, with roughly half of the problem cleared by 2027 and the remainder by 2028. The government's priority list covers 24 of 40 large cities identified as the main focus, led by Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Tangerang, with Palembang and Medan singled out for earlier completion in 2027.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 8 min read

Solar panels and offshore wind turbines under a clear sky

Energy & Climate13 July 2026

Indonesia and Singapore sign a cross-border power deal, then get stuck on price

President Prabowo Subianto and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong met in Jakarta on July 6, 2026 for the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat, and left with 26 signed agreements: 18 government-to-government and 8 business-to-business, according to Antara News. The centrepiece was electricity. Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara Indonesia, was appointed to lead the country's cross-border power exports and signed two memoranda of understanding, one with Singapore's Keppel Electric and one with Sembcorp Utilities, to work toward supplying at least 3.4 gigawatts of low-carbon electricity to Singapore by 2035 on commercial terms.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 8 min read

Aerial view of a large installation set against forested tropical hills

Energy & Climate12 July 2026

Indonesia issues its first forestry carbon credits under a new national registry

On July 6, 2026, Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry issued formal trading approvals for four forestry carbon projects, releasing an initial pool of approximately 31.72 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, CO2e, onto the country's carbon market. Three days later, on July 9, the government launched the Sistem Registri Unit Karbon, SRUK, in Jakarta, the national registry meant to record, track, and retire every carbon unit traded in Indonesia going forward. Together the two events mark the moment Indonesia's carbon economic value program, built on Presidential Regulation No. 110 of 2025 and Forestry Ministerial Regulations No. 6 and No. 7 of 2026, moved from legal architecture to an actual, countable transaction.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 7 min read

Heavy excavation equipment clearing land at a mining site

Sustainable Resources12 July 2026

What Jambi's illegal gold mining would cost under Indonesia's own valuation rules

An investigation published by Mongabay Indonesia on July 10 documents more than 60,000 hectares of forest damaged by illegal gold mining across Jambi province, an area approaching the size of Singapore. More than 1,250 hectares of that damage sits inside Kerinci Seblat National Park itself, a 1.38 million hectare reserve that UNESCO recognised in 2004 as part of the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra and has listed as endangered since 2011. What the reporting documents in hectares, mercury readings, and collapsed fish stocks is exactly the raw material Indonesia's own environmental law uses to calculate a rupiah figure for damage like this. Nobody has yet run that calculation for Kerinci Seblat, which is the gap this piece is really about.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 10 min read

A government official speaks with an informal waste picker holding a basket of sorted plastic packaging waste

Waste & Pollution12 July 2026

Indonesia moves to make plastic producers fund waste management

On 12 July 2026, at the Kali Sabi Festival in Tangerang's Cibodas industrial area, Environment Minister Muhammad Jumhur Hidayat told reporters that a ministerial regulation on extended producer responsibility, known as EPR, is close to completion. The regulation would require producers of plastic packaging to fund the management of the waste their products generate, rather than leaving that cost to the state budget, known in Indonesia as the APBN. Jumhur said close to 10,000 large factories are expected to take part in the scheme, allocating a portion of their operating budgets to waste management once the rule takes effect.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 8 min read

Officials and Indonesian flags at a PLN power infrastructure inauguration ceremony

Energy & Climate11 July 2026

Coal graft probe implicates itself in the blackouts hitting a coal-rich island

On Monday, July 6, 2026, Indonesia's National Police upgraded a preliminary inquiry into coal procurement for state-owned power plants into a formal criminal investigation. The Criminal Investigation Department, Bareskrim, led by Comr. Gen. Syahardiantono, is working alongside the Corruption Eradication Corps, Kortas Tipidkor, under Insp. Gen. Totok Suharyanto. Enforcement Director Brig. Gen. Roberthus Yohanes De Deo Tresna Eka Trimana confirmed the case now covers alleged corruption and money laundering in coal supply contracts with coal-fired power plants spanning 2018 to 2026. Two firms, identified so far only by the initials UBP and BRA, are suspected of manipulating the quantity and quality of coal delivered against contract terms. Investigators have questioned 16 witnesses. No suspects have been named.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 9 min read

Community members at a village meeting under a banner about waste as an alternative energy source

Waste & Pollution11 July 2026

Kepulauan Seribu advances household waste sorting to 59 percent

On 10 July 2026, the Jakarta Provincial Environmental Service's Kepulauan Seribu sub office reported that household waste sorting at the point of origin across the archipelago has reached 59 percent, under Jakarta Governor Instruction Number 5 of 2026 on the Movement for Waste Sorting and Processing from the Source. Achmad Hariadi, head of the sub office, presented the figure as evidence that eleven inhabited islands are now running organized sorting programs, and Regent Muhammad Fadjar Churniawan called for continued investment in local infrastructure to keep the region moving toward its targets.

Sirkularium Editorial Team, 7 min read

Latest from the sector

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13 July 2026

Indonesia opens mining to cooperatives, leaving reclamation guarantees an open question

13 July 2026

Coordinating minister seeks presidential decree to clear Indonesia's waste mountains

13 July 2026

Indonesia and Singapore sign a cross-border power deal, then get stuck on price

12 July 2026

Indonesia issues its first forestry carbon credits under a new national registry

12 July 2026

What Jambi's illegal gold mining would cost under Indonesia's own valuation rules

12 July 2026

Indonesia moves to make plastic producers fund waste management

11 July 2026

Coal graft probe implicates itself in the blackouts hitting a coal-rich island

11 July 2026

Kepulauan Seribu advances household waste sorting to 59 percent

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Indonesia opens mining to cooperatives, leaving reclamation guarantees an open question

Coordinating minister seeks presidential decree to clear Indonesia's waste mountains

Indonesia and Singapore sign a cross-border power deal, then get stuck on price

Indonesia issues its first forestry carbon credits under a new national registry

What Jambi's illegal gold mining would cost under Indonesia's own valuation rules

Indonesia moves to make plastic producers fund waste management

Coal graft probe implicates itself in the blackouts hitting a coal-rich island

Kepulauan Seribu advances household waste sorting to 59 percent

Latest from the sector

Indonesia opens mining to cooperatives, leaving reclamation guarantees an open question

Coordinating minister seeks presidential decree to clear Indonesia's waste mountains

Indonesia and Singapore sign a cross-border power deal, then get stuck on price

Indonesia issues its first forestry carbon credits under a new national registry

What Jambi's illegal gold mining would cost under Indonesia's own valuation rules

Indonesia moves to make plastic producers fund waste management

Coal graft probe implicates itself in the blackouts hitting a coal-rich island

Kepulauan Seribu advances household waste sorting to 59 percent

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Indonesia opens mining to cooperatives, leaving reclamation guarantees an open question

Latest from the sector

Indonesia opens mining to cooperatives, leaving reclamation guarantees an open question

Coordinating minister seeks presidential decree to clear Indonesia's waste mountains

Indonesia and Singapore sign a cross-border power deal, then get stuck on price

Indonesia issues its first forestry carbon credits under a new national registry

What Jambi's illegal gold mining would cost under Indonesia's own valuation rules

Indonesia moves to make plastic producers fund waste management

Coal graft probe implicates itself in the blackouts hitting a coal-rich island

Kepulauan Seribu advances household waste sorting to 59 percent

Explore the practice

Academy

Consulting

Careers

Agency

Considering a consultant for your next project?