Komodo Park’s 650 kg Daily Waste Figure Traces Back to 2017–2018 Study

Labuan Bajo — Komodo National Park’s daily waste generation was estimated at around 650 kilograms per day in a 2017–2018 assessment, but available independent studies and park authority statements do not confirm this figure as the current daily load in 2026.

The 650-kilogram estimate appears in a report quoting Sudiyono, then head of the Komodo National Park authority, describing average daily waste in the park at “650 kg more per day,” based on conditions in the late 2010s. A waste management study by WWF-Indonesia in 2017 similarly estimated that Komodo National Park produced about 12.18 cubic metres of waste per day, or roughly 0.65 tonnes. Both figures refer to the situation during that period, not to present-day volumes.

According to detailed reporting on waste in the park, the densest concentrations of garbage were found in tourism and settlement areas including Komodo Village and the Loh Liang tourism site on Komodo Island, as well as villages and visitor facilities on Rinca. Additional hotspots included Pulau Padar, Pink Beach, and other heavily visited coastal areas where tourist activity and limited waste infrastructure contributed to accumulation.

Composition of park waste

In interviews summarized by local media, Sudiyono described the composition of waste in and around Komodo National Park as dominated by residual and construction materials, followed by paper and plastics. He cited an approximate breakdown of 27 percent plastic, 29 percent paper, 1 percent glass, 1 percent food waste and about 41 percent residual or construction-related waste. These proportions were presented as indicative of the park’s waste stream at the time; the reports do not specify whether they were derived from a formal audit or routine collection records.

WWF-Indonesia’s 2017 study of Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park likewise highlighted the scale of solid waste and the dominance of plastics, estimating that Labuan Bajo produced about 12.8 tonnes of waste per day and the park about 0.65 tonnes per day. Subsequent citizen-science monitoring of beaches around Labuan Bajo and the park reported that plastic, especially soft plastics, accounts for the majority of litter found on shorelines.

Early responses and community initiatives

To address mounting waste challenges, the Komodo National Park authority, the Manggarai Barat local government and WWF-Indonesia developed an Integrated Waste Management approach and a guideline for managing waste in the park and Labuan Bajo in early 2018. As part of this effort, they launched the Masyarakat Peduli Sampah (Community Concerned About Waste) initiative in February 2018, bringing together residents from villages inside the park to improve collection, handling and awareness.

Reporting from 2018 indicates that park staff transported non-organic waste from sites such as Loh Liang and Loh Buaya to Labuan Bajo using patrol boats, while organic waste was buried locally. Other islands without permanent security posts were cleaned through regular beach-cleaning activities, though the documentation does not specify the exact frequency or tonnage removed.

WWF-Indonesia and local partners also backed the creation of Koperasi Serba Usaha (KSU) Sampah Komodo, a community waste-management cooperative, to improve recycling and recovery of inorganic waste from Labuan Bajo and nearby islands. WWF reported that by late 2018, KSU Sampah Komodo had helped Labuan Bajo remove tens of tonnes of plastic waste and was operating as a pilot facility for reduce–reuse–recycle (3R) waste handling.

The cooperative receives sorted inorganic waste from communities, pays small incentives per kilogram, and ships recyclable material to facilities in Java.

These initiatives indicate that since 2017–2018, waste in Komodo National Park has been the focus of coordinated responses by park authorities, local government, civil society and community groups. However, none of the independently sourced studies or official releases consulted provide an updated, verified figure for current daily waste generation in the park as of September 2026.

Sources

• Republika Online – “Sampah Taman Nasional Komodo 650 Kg per Hari”
• Validnews – “SINEMA, WISATA, DAN SAMPAH”
• Mongabay Indonesia – “Mengolah Sampah Anorganik di Kawasan Wisata Komodo”
• KSDAE, Ministry of Environment and Forestry – “Pembentukan Masyarakat Peduli Sampah Taman Nasional Komodo”
• WWF-Indonesia – “LABUAN BAJO IS FREE FROM 54.8 TONS OF PLASTIC WASTE AS A RESULT OF ONE YEAR THE KOMODO WASTE MANAGEMENT UNIT (KSU) WORK”
• Jurnal Online Mahasiswa FISIP – “Peran WWF dalam Pengelolaan Taman Nasional Komodo”
• Japanese Ministry of the Environment – Coral Reef Community Pamphlet (English)
• Australia Awards Indonesia – “Fighting waste in Komodo National Park through community ‘trash banks’”
• Inbesa blog – “Setahun Berkiprah, KSU Sampah Komodo Bebaskan Labuan Bajo dari 54,8 Ton Sampah Plastik”