Denpasar battling against rising garbage mountain<\/p>\n
By I Wayan Juniarta<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali,
\nis currently struggling in a fight against a mountainous heap of
\ngarbage piled in a corner of the city.<\/p>\n
With a population of almost 400,000 people occupying around
\n123.98 square kilometer plot of land, Denpasar is perhaps
\novercrowded. Not to mention the escalating number of migrants and
\nrefugees who flooded this city in the last few months because of
\nunrest in several places, such as Jakarta, East Timor and the
\nmost recent in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
Denpasar is considered a safer and promising city for these
\nfleeing people. Yet the rapid demographic growth has caused
\nsocial and environmental problems, such as garbage.<\/p>\n
The city produces about 1,500 cubic meters of garbage, which
\nis equivalent to 300 tons a day. That is up from only 1,200 cubic
\nmeters in l996.<\/p>\n
The city's landscape and sanitation department acknowledged it
\nfaces difficulty in managing the garbage problem and the city's
\nparks.<\/p>\n
At present, the department only operates 19 trucks to collect
\nand depose garbage at 14 dump sites outside the city.<\/p>\n
The capacity of each dump site ranges from only 40 to 100
\ncubic meters. Even worse, only a few trucks are in good
\ncondition. Therefore, the department can only collect 75 cubic
\nmeters a day, leaving about 285 tons of garbage in town.<\/p>\n
This means Denpasar accumulates more than 8,000 tons of
\ngarbage a month. What a view!<\/p>\n
IBM Suthapa, head of the sanitation department, said he and
\nhis 963 staff members were trying very hard to clean up the city.
\nThey work around the clock in three shifts.<\/p>\n
"At almost any hour, you can see our trucks passing the city's
\nmain streets loaded with garbage," said Suthapha in his office.<\/p>\n
Some of the staff have an additional duty to sweep Denpasar's
\nmain streets twice a day. These sweepers are well-known as the
\n"yellow troops" because they wear uniforms of the same color.<\/p>\n
"Ideally, we should employ at least 60 trucks and have modern
\nequipment to properly manage garbage collection," he said.<\/p>\n
To illustrate the plight of the yellow troops, Suthapha said
\ntheir working hours start from 5 a.m. and end at 4 a.m the next
\nday.<\/p>\n
"Although the work is divided into three shifts, it is very
\nburdensome compared to their meager salary. But most of them are
\ndedicated workers," he added.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, people in Denpasar rarely recognize their hard
\nwork. "Many people have a lack of awareness on how to keep their
\ncity clean," Suthapha said.<\/p>\n
They often dump their garbage wherever they like.<\/p>\n
"Many have thrown litter out of their luxury cars," he added.<\/p>\n
Household garbage collection is another problem for the yellow
\ntroop.<\/p>\n
"It is difficult for us to collect household garbage because
\nthey do not put them in plastic bags. It is extra work," said a
\nmember of the yellow troop.<\/p>\n
Suthapa hopes the municipal government can impose stricter
\nsanctions for public litterers in order to raise people's
\nawareness on city cleanliness.<\/p>\n
In addition to fines, it would be effective to involve
\nlitterers in cleaning work for at least three days.<\/p>\n
In some housing complexes, residents have a privately managed
\nservice to collect household garbage.<\/p>\n
They pay Rp 1000 per family for the collection service.<\/p>\n
A home garbage management system is of course inadequate to
\nmanage the city's garbage.<\/p>\n
It requires a lot of funds and proper technology to deal with
\nthe city's garbage.<\/p>\n
Such an environmentally friendly garbage management system is
\nnot yet popular among residents in Denpasar.<\/p>\n
The department is now working together with the Institute of
\nHuman Resources Development to train its staff to manage the
\ngarbage more professionally and in an environmentally friendly
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
"We should make a breakthrough in dealing with the city's
\nsanitary problems, otherwise Denpasar will be transformed into a
\ndirty rotten city," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/denpasar-battling-against-rising-garbage-mountain-1447893297",
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