Awards for environmentally friendly firms<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration awarded on Wednesday
\nlicenses to 27 companies and building operators allowing them to
\ndischarge their treated wastewater into rivers.<\/p>\n
The companies were given the awards after they passed the
\nhealth standard requirement set by the City Environmental Impact
\nManagement Agency.<\/p>\n
Deputy Governor of Development Affairs Boedihardjo Soekmadi
\npresented the licenses at a ceremony at City Hall.<\/p>\n
"Most of the rivers in Jakarta are badly polluted. Therefore,
\nwe must take action to save them," he said while addressing the
\nceremony.<\/p>\n
"Any action taken must consider not only the quality aspects
\nbut also the quantity. Therefore, I urge all firms to implement
\nthe 'zero waste' principle," he told the participants.<\/p>\n
Zero waste means that there is no waste discharged from any
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
"This principle will preserve both the environment and
\ncompanies as well," added Budihardjo.<\/p>\n
Earlier, head of the City Environmental Impact Management
\nAgency Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno told Budihardjo that there were
\n698 companies in the city which discharged wastewater to rivers.<\/p>\n
"They have to send samples of their wastewater to the agency
\nevery three months. The agency will take administrative and legal
\naction against companies which fail to do so," he said.<\/p>\n
"That action will include warning letters and closing the
\nwastewater outlets. We will also pass complaints to the city
\npolice for further investigation," he added.<\/p>\n
There were 426 companies in 1999 which regularly sent samples
\nof their wastewater, while the remaining 272 companies did not
\nsend any samples. Of the 426 companies, only 42 have shown good
\nresults.<\/p>\n
"However, from our field inspections, there are only 27
\ncompanies which meet the standard," said Aboejoewono, adding that
\nanother 85 firms had average results and the other 299 bad
\nresults.<\/p>\n
Aboejoewono said it had become a classical excuse from
\nbusiness people to say that constructing such treatment plant was
\nan expensive investment.<\/p>\n
"That excuse is no longer valid. Several executives said that
\nthey could even increase their efficiency rate by constructing
\nsuch treatment plants," he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
"The next step is to implement the '3 R principle': reduce,
\nreuse and recycle. Implementing this principle will greatly
\npreserve our environment," he said.<\/p>\n
Pharmaceutical factories, such as Kimia Farma, Merck Indonesia
\nand Pfizer Indonesia, dominated the list followed by food
\nfactories, such as Khong Guan Biscuits, Friesche Vlag Indonesia
\nand Trebor Indonesia. Cosmetics producers Avon Indonesia and
\nTancho Indonesia also joined the list.<\/p>\n
The list also included hospitals: Pondok Indah and Tebet in
\nSouth Jakarta and St. Carolus in Central Jakarta, as well as the
\nDai-Ichi and Borobudur Intercontinental hotels.<\/p>\n
Avon Indonesia's director of manufacturing, Awang Hermani,
\ntold the Post that investment for treatment plants was
\nconsiderably low.<\/p>\n
"Our investment for the treatment plant was only Rp 35 million
\nin 1989. We add new installations every year at Rp 5 million. The
\noperational cost is only Rp 20 million each year," he said. (nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/awards-for-environmentally-friendly-firms-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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