"The main source of the garbage is from the producers but the law does not clearly state if the money needed to extract unrecyclable packages is part of the company's production cost or its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program," Indonesia Environment Forum (Walhi) activist Slamet Daroyni told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

He said if the cost was part of the company's CSR program, the law would not help to reduce garbage from the main source.

"The law also seems soft against producers since it does not specify sanctions for those failing to withdraw unrecyclable garbage," he said.

The House of Representatives passed the law on waste management last week after years of discussion.

The law promotes the reuse, recycling and recovery (3R) of both household garbage and wastes such as solid hazardous materials.

The law requires producers to manage packaging that cannot be recycled by nature, including plastics used for noodle or cosmetic products, styrofoam and diapers.

The law obliges companies to use recyclable materials and provide labels containing information about garbage reduction and management of their products.

Sri Bebasari, chief executive of the Indonesia Solid Waste Research Development Center, urged the government to speed up the issue of supporting regulations to implement the law.

"It is urgent to implement the law. Japan has had a law on waste for 100 years," she told the Post.

Sri said the situation was too critical to allow for any delays in implementing the law.

"Many open dumping sites are already in alarming states," she said.

The office of the state minister for the environment said the law needed at least 12 supporting regulations.

The law demands local administrations close all open dumping facilities at least five years after the law is passed, while the management of housing complexes must set up facilities to sort organic and nonorganic waste next year at the latest.

It also requires residents to limit, reduce and manage their own household waste and prohibits people from dumping garbage, and imposes sanctions on institutions falling short of standards in waste management. It also bans the importation of household and solid hazardous waste into the country.

Intentional violations of the regulations could result in prison sentences of between four and 10 years and fines of between Rp 100 million (US$10,870) and Rp 5 billion.

Violators are also threatened with five to 15 years in prison and fines of between Rp 100 million and Rp 5 billion if their wrongdoings result in deaths.

Waste, largely due to massive amounts of household garbage, has been one of the most sensitive issues in the country's urban areas. Indonesia produces about 21,000 tons of household waste daily.

The environment ministry reported that all the country's 36 big rivers are suffering from severe pollution because of the dumping of garbage into them.