World News for Students of English

17-08-2026 07:00

Indonesia is currently facing a severe waste crisis as many of its landfills reach full capacity. The largest site, Bantargebang near Jakarta, covers more than 100 hectares and has piled up garbage as high as a 16-storey building.

This massive landfill poses constant danger to nearby communities and thousands of informal workers due to toxic methane fires and frequent trash landslides. Following a tragic landslide in March that killed seven people, the Indonesian government promised major reforms. Authorities plan to end unrestricted open dumping, reshape steep slopes, improve drainage systems, and mandate waste sorting so landfills eventually receive only residual waste.

However, these changes worry thousands of informal waste collectors who survive by searching through garbage to resell items for a few dollars a day. While workers fear losing their daily income, government officials promise to create safer, formal jobs in newly planned processing facilities to separate recyclable materials properly.

Difficult words: drainage (a system of pipes or channels that carries water or liquid waste away from an area), mandate (to make an official rule or order that forces people to do something), residual waste (trash that cannot be recycled, reused, or composted and must be thrown away).

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