Making Indonesia clean from waste: The role of culture in the development of new waste management services in Sumbawa, Indonesia

Adopting the theoretical concept of a ‘policy assemblage’ to understand waste management policy, this thesis is an anthropological study of the circular economy-inspired waste management policy in Indonesia as it was rolled out on the island of Sumbawa in eastern Indonesia. By situating the policy within the history of Indonesian development, and within the cultural infrastructure of waste management in Sumbawa, the thesis shows how the policy often ends up serving purposes different to its intended objectives. The thesis concludes by providing recommendations on how the implementation of the policy could be made more socially and environmentally just.