What the study found
The article argues that the “garbage emergency” in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, reflects deeper structural conditions of socio-spatial inequality and environmental injustice. It links the closure of the Piyungan landfill to a wider pattern in which waste is pushed onto peripheral “sacrifice zones” and managed by informal workers with little protection.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors suggest that the garbage emergency framing both comes from and helps maintain conditions of neglect and disavowal. They conclude that waste should be rethought as a socio-ecological crisis, not just a technical disposal issue, and that it requires more than techno-bureaucratic solutions.
What the researchers tested
This is a conceptual article focused on the waste crisis in Yogyakarta, especially the closure of the province’s largest landfill in Piyungan. The authors draw on Timothy Morton’s concept of a hyperobject, its political reworking as hyperabject by Mikkel Krause Frantze and Jens Bjering, and Rob Nixon’s idea of slow violence.
What worked and what didn't
The article presents the “garbage emergency” framing as a way that can reveal and also reproduce structural problems shaped by neglect and disavowal. It also describes urban waste management that externalizes untreated waste to suburban zones and relies on informal labor with minimal protection. The abstract does not report empirical tests, measured outcomes, or counterresults.
What to keep in mind
The available summary does not describe specific data, methods of collection, or a comparative design. It also does not provide detailed limitations beyond its own emphasis on conceptual framing and the Yogyakarta case.
Key points
- The article focuses on Yogyakarta’s garbage emergency after the closure of the Piyungan landfill.
- It argues that waste management is tied to socio-spatial inequality and environmental injustice.
- The authors describe suburban “sacrifice zones” where informal workers manage untreated waste with minimal protection.
- They use the ideas of hyperobject, hyperabject, and slow violence to interpret the crisis.
- The abstract says waste should be treated as a socio-ecological crisis, not only a disposal problem.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Yogyakarta’s garbage emergency reflects structural waste inequality
- Authors:
- Rangga Kala Mahaswa, Min Seong Kim, Arya Malik Nurrizky
- Institutions:
- Sanata Dharma University, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Gadjah Mada, University of Glasgow
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-09
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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