Bangka doubts Jakarta will keep its words<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Bangka<\/p>\n
Acting governor of Bangka-Belitung province Amur Muhasim said
\nover the weekend that he doubted the Jakarta Administration would
\ntransport its garbage to the islands to refill tin-mining sites
\nthere.<\/p>\n
\"Bangka's regent has only presented the city's plan verbally,\"
\nthe governor told visiting members of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) Commission VIII, which deals with
\nenvironmental problems.<\/p>\n
He said that he still did not believe Jakarta would be
\nable to process the garbage before transporting it to Bangka
\nisland.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not sure that Jakarta will process it into compost or
\nother forms of garbage before sending it here,\" he told Antara.<\/p>\n
Bangka Belitung province, which used to be part of the
\nprovince of South Sumatra, needs compost for agriculture and as a
\nmaterial to refill its open tin-mining sites.<\/p>\n
According to him, processing the garbage and then transporting
\nit by sea would require an enormous amount of money. In addition,
\nresidents of South Bangka, particularly in the towns of Koba and
\nToboali, have rejected the garbage intake, despite there being
\nmany open-mining sites in their areas.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, city spokesman Muhayat said that Jakarta and
\nBangka had signed a memorandum of understanding over the issue
\nlast month.<\/p>\n
\"Now we're making further preparations to realize it,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post by telephone last Saturday.<\/p>\n
The preparations, he said, include finding a plot of land in
\nor near Tanjung Priok Port to be made a temporary dump for its
\ngarbage before transporting it to Bangka.<\/p>\n
But he said that the garbage could also be pressed or wrapped
\nin such a way that it could be environmentally safe enough to be
\nshipped to the islands. \"We've allocated enough money for it,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The city administration was still undecided over where to dump
\nits garbage after Jan.31. The deadline set by Bekasi mayoralty on
\nwhether to reopen Bantar Gebang dump pending the city's measures
\nto comply with new terms is to be signed by both before the
\ndeadline.<\/p>\n
There have been no positive signs until now, though, that both
\nwould secure a deal before the deadline.<\/p>\n
The city has even accused Bekasi of blackmail and considered
\nhalting the use of Bantar Gebang dump after Jan. 31, claiming
\nthat it has already secured alternate sites for dumping.<\/p>\n
The alternatives are Bangka island, in the southern part of
\nSumatra, Marunda in North Jakarta, Tegal Alur and Kamal in West
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
But, as of last week, none of the alternatives were ready.<\/p>\n
With Bangka, it has yet to make sure how it will transport the
\ntrash and whether Bangka residents will refuse the incoming
\ngarbage or not.<\/p>\n
In Marunda, Tegal Alur and Kamal, there were no signs of
\npreparations to apply the sanitary landfill system, as had been
\nclaimed by the city. Preparations for the system have included
\ninstalling pipelines to direct waste liquid to safe tanks.<\/p>\n
Residents in the area have rejected the plan and have set
\ntheir conditions, should it be realized, which include the
\nconstruction of health facilities and a high wall to isolate the
\ndump from the surrounding residential areas, as well as the
\nprovision of an appropriate amount of compensation to those
\nadversely affected.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bangka-doubts-jakarta-will-keep-its-words-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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