Jakarta's garbage woes<\/p>\n
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso can draw a sigh of relief. The
\nBekasi municipality's announcement on Wednesday to allow Jakarta
\nto continue to dump its garbage at Bantar Gebang -- Jakarta's
\nbiggest garbage dump so far -- gives the capital city at least
\ntemporary respite from having to find an immediate solution to
\nthe crucial problem of preventing us all from gradually being
\nburied under mountains of garbage. For that, Sutiyoso has the
\ncentral government, the home ministry in particular, to thank for
\nintervening in the dispute.<\/p>\n
Jakarta's newspapers have been filled in the past few days
\nwith reports and comments on this long-standing problem: where or
\nhow to dispose of the tons of garbage the city produces daily. Up
\nto this week, Bantar Gebang was convenient. Located just east of
\nJakarta, it was close yet far enough removed from the city
\ncenter. With its 104 hectares, the dump could hold the estimated
\n25,000 cubic meters of garbage Jakarta produces daily. And, aside
\nfrom complaints by residents living close to the area about air
\nand groundwater pollution, Bantar Gebang did not seem to raise
\nmuch of a stink among either local officials or residents in
\nBekasi.<\/p>\n
Lulled perhaps by the absence of any strong protests, the
\nJakarta city authorities were alarmed to learn how on Monday the
\nBekasi municipality decided to permanently close the Bantar
\nGebang dump. In this era of regional autonomy, regional
\nadministrations indeed have the authority to make such decisions.
\nTo add to the consternation of the Jakarta authorities, not only
\nBekasi law enforcement personnel, but crowds of local Bekasi
\nresidents from nearby areas appeared on the scene. Four garbage
\ntrucks were burned and others were vandalized when the people
\ntried to stop them from dumping their loads at the dump.<\/p>\n
There are lessons to be learned by all the parties involved in
\nthese incidents. First of all, Jakarta's garbage disposal problem
\nis by no means new. City authorities from the time of governor
\nAli Sadikin in the 1970s up to the present have wracked their
\nbrains for a solution. At one point experts suggested turning the
\nmountains of waste into compost. For some reason, this never
\nworked out.<\/p>\n
Given the long-standing and increasingly loud protests from
\nenvironmentalists and local Bantar Gebang residents about
\nJakarta's garbage management, however, it is difficult to blame
\nthe critics for accusing Jakarta city authorities of inertia.
\nOnly after Bantar Gebang was closed down and garbage started to
\npile up at points along Jakarta's streets did the Jakarta city
\nadministration seem to wake up from its apathy and start looking
\nfrantically for alternative sites.<\/p>\n
The Bantar Gebang closure cost the chief of the Jakarta
\nsanitation office, Saksono Hoesodo, his job when Sutiyoso
\ndismissed him for incompetence. A number of Jakarta's garbage
\ntrucks have been destroyed or vandalized. And although for now
\nthe Bekasi administration's decision to postpone the closure of
\nthe Bantar Gebang dump, eventually scavengers, those useful
\nworkers who make a living out of scavenging the garbage at Bantar
\nGebang to be resold and recycled, also stand to lose their
\nlivelihoods.<\/p>\n
All in all, for city with a multimillion population such as
\nJakarta, one essential lesson that this waste disposal incident
\nteaches is never to take garbage lightly. If neglected, this is a
\nproblem that could cause grave damage to the environment and to
\nthe people living in it. Jakarta's environment is contaminated
\nenough without uncollected garbage adding to the pollution.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakartas-garbage-woes-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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