Operations Management Optimization of Local Environmental Agency in Urban Waste Management: An Institutional Perspective

Kusasi Kusasi (Universitas Terbuka Tangerang Selatan)
Karona Cahya Susena (Universitas Dehasen Bengkulu)

Social Sciences Journal
Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): November

Urban waste management is a critical public service that demands rigorous capacity planning, process control, service-quality measurement, asset lifecycle management, and multi-stakeholder coordination. Although an extensive national regulatory framework is established in Indonesia, operational implementation at the municipal level continues to face a significant gap between policy targets and local government execution capacity. This review paper analyzes the fundamental operations-management functions of local environmental agencies (Dinas Lingkungan Hidup / DLH), identifies internal structural and external behavioral barriers affecting operational performance, and formulates a multi-tiered optimization strategy from an institutional theory perspective. A qualitative systematic approach was applied through thematic synthesis of national regulations, official statistics, scholarly books, and peer-reviewed empirical studies. The synthesis demonstrates that DLH's operational functions encompass five core pillars: capacity planning and fleet sizing, resource organization, standardized service delivery, service-quality control and asset maintenance, and continuous performance evaluation. However, these functions are constrained by fiscal deficits, human resource competency gaps, fragmented operational data, sub-optimal facility integration (TPS 3R, waste banks, and composting units), low source separation by households, and unstructured private sector involvement. To bridge this institutional-operational gap, we propose a strategic roadmap comprising short-term managerial capacity strengthening, medium-term performance-based budgeting, route telematics, and facility network integration, and long-term circular economy ecosystem building with extended producer responsibility (EPR). These strategies provide an actionable framework for transitioning municipal waste services from traditional linear collect-transport-dispose models toward integrated, efficient, measurable, and sustainable circular operations.