Legal Coherence and Institutional Gaps in Medical Waste Governance and Public Health Protection in Indonesia

Rafadi Khan Khayru; Antonino Pedro  Marsal; Leonel da  Costa

Authors

Rafadi Khan Khayru Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
Antonino Pedro Marsal Instituto Boaventura De Timor Leste
Leonel da Costa Universidade Da Pas Unpaz Dili Timor-Leste

Keywords:

medical waste regulation, environmental health, legal implementation, public risk, governance coordination, health policy, enforcement mechanisms

Abstract

This literature-based study explores the regulatory structure surrounding medical waste management in Indonesia and its impact on public health. The inquiry focuses on statutory design, institutional mechanisms, and enforcement capacity in addressing hazardous healthcare waste. Legal documents and academic analyses reveal a regulatory framework that, while formally coherent, suffers from implementation fragmentation, resource limitations, and weak monitoring. The study identifies major obstacles including jurisdictional overlap, infrastructural gaps, limited judicial enforcement, and public unawareness. Utilizing insights from environmental law, institutional theory, and governance scholarship, the paper argues that legal regulation must evolve beyond textual mandates to encompass systemic coordination and adaptive practices. Evidence from national studies and global benchmarks underlines the need for strengthened inter-ministerial collaboration, legal review cycles, and community-informed governance. Ultimately, the findings suggest that without reformative institutional alignment, medical waste laws may fail to deliver tangible public health outcomes. This paper contributes to the scholarship on legal environmental governance by demonstrating the significance of implementation coherence in safeguarding health through law.

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