One of the infrastructure systems that were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in December 2004 in Aceh Province and March 2005 in Nias Island, Indonesia, was the local government's solid waste management (SWM) system. UNDP-TRWMP and UN-HABITAT Indonesia have been providing assistances to the Local Government Units (LGUs) through TIM-SWM project to develop the capacity of local human resources for sustainable Solid Waste Management (SWM) by conducting trainings as well as developing Operational Waste Management Plans (OWMP) for each district. The paper highlights the benefits and experiences of operational development plans in SWM for LGUs, the methodology adopted, the main activities, and the result of the process into an OWMP document which has become a practical approach in building the capacity of LGU officials. The capacity building exercises have been a cornerstone in building the know-how of the officials and staff involved. Thus the operational planning exercise and the resultant plan is expected to become a model in Indonesia at the local level for sustainable SWM and is expected to be replicated in other districts in Indonesia.