Islamic environmental ethics and community-based waste management: An integrative analysis of secondary data on the urban environmental crisis

Abstract

Background: This qualitative descriptive study examines the role and potential of Islamic environmental ethics (IEE) in strengthening community-based waste management (CBWM) in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia. It explores how Islamic moral and normative principles, including khalīfah (divine mandate), amānah (trust and responsibility), ṭahārah (cleanliness), anti-isrāf (avoidance of wastefulness), and the maqāṣid al-sharīʿah framework (the primary objectives of Islamic law), can provide an ethical foundation for sustainable waste management within Muslim communities. Existing literature highlights that although Yogyakarta City has implemented policies such as zero inorganic waste (ZIW) and waste bank programs, an ethical and moral implementation gap remains. Methods: This study employed systematic content analysis of secondary data from government policy documents, official statistical reports, and academic literature published between 2019 and 2024. Findings: The analysis identifies ethical and moral implementation gaps, including low public awareness of environmental responsibilities, weak enforcement of moral and regulatory sanctions, limited financial and institutional support for religious institutions, and fragmented collaboration between local governments and Islamic institutions. Conclusion: Structural waste management policies require an ethical approach to help bridge the implementation gap and encourage sustained behavioral change. Accordingly, this study proposes the IEE-CBWM Integrative Model as a theoretical and practical framework. Novelty/Originality of this article: This article introduces the IEE-CBWM Integrative Model, linking Islamic environmental ethics with community-based waste management through proposed strategies, including partnerships between municipal Environmental Agencies/Dinas Lingkungan Hidup (DLH) and mosque networks, localized composting facilities, and ethical indicators alongside conventional waste-volume metrics.