<![CDATA[This study analyzes how Malang City's waste reduction and handling policy performed between 2020 and 2024 against the targets set in Mayoral Regulation No. 34/2018, and asks how legally binding the city's plastic-waste-reduction instrument actually is. A descriptive quantitative, ex post facto design was used, drawing on official secondary data from Malang City Government releases, the Malang City Environmental Agency (DLH), and earlier academic journal articles, analyzed through time-series trend analysis, policy-target gap analysis, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) analysis of waste infrastructure, and content analysis of the legal strength of the plastic-reduction instrument. City-wide waste handling realization had already exceeded its 2025 target by 2021 (74.00%, 4.00 points above the 70% target) and reached 98.68% by 2024, while reduction realization continued to lag behind the 30% target, at 26.17% in 2023 (a gap of -3.83 points). The number of waste transfer stations (TPS) grew at a compound annual rate of 11.99%, from 59 units in 2020 to 74 in 2022, yet a sub-district-level case study found a reduction rate of only 20.13% in Tunjungsekar, well below the city aggregate, pointing to an aggregation bias in how achievement is reported. The main instrument specifically targeting plastic, Mayor's Circular Letter No. 8/2021, turned out to be an administrative appeal with no binding legal force, and DLH itself acknowledged that its impact has so far been limited. Aggregate success on the handling side, in other words, risks masking implementation gaps at smaller territorial scales, and the weak legal standing of the plastic-reduction instrument makes passing the pending single-use-plastic-bag bylaw an urgent priority.]]>
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