Coastal Community Perspective, Waste Density, and Spatial Area toward Sustainable Waste Management (Case Study: Ambon Bay, Indonesia)

The coastal area has experienced significant changes of waste problems over the past few years. To resolve the waste problems in coastal areas, an understanding of community perception is needed to support government efforts. Therefore, this study aims to review people’s perspectives on the dynamics of waste in the coastal areas. Community perception data were compiled through semi-structured interviews with the surrounding communities in coastal areas. ArcGIS and load count analysis were used to analyze the waste density. Waste was collected from the coastal area in Ambon Bay and analyzed using waste density calculation and spatial analysis. The results show that the total waste density obtained at the coastal area of Ambon Bay is 0.249 kg/m2, of which 0.078 kg/m2 is the density of plastic waste, and 0.171 kg/m2 is the density of non-plastic waste. Communities in coastal areas have made efforts to deal with waste problems, but the efforts made are still ineffective in overcoming these problems. That problem happens because there is a lack of knowledge of the community and lack of infrastructure in coastal areas. The research results have the potential for replication in other coastal areas and are used as the basis of decision making for waste management improvement.