Medan reenacts bylaw to deal with garbage<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
The Medan, North Sumatra, municipal administration reenacted a
\nbylaw banning residents from depositing litter, to overcome a
\nproblem that had again become a burden to the administration
\nafter a lapse of six months.<\/p>\n
Bylaw No.30\/1993 stipulates that anyone found to have
\ndeposited litter is subject to a maximum of six months'
\nimprisonment plus a Rp 50,000 (less than US$5) fine.<\/p>\n
Municipality spokesman Arlan Nasution said on Friday that the
\ndecision had eventually been taken, after lengthy meetings, to
\nidentify the most effective way of keeping the city clean by
\nusing the city's manual workers.<\/p>\n
\"The bylaw was officially annulled six months ago because we
\novercame the waste problem. But recently the problem emerged
\nagain so the bylaw has had to be reenacted,\" he told reporters.<\/p>\n
Medan, the third-largest city in the country after Jakarta and
\nSurabaya, produces around 411 tons of waste each day.<\/p>\n
The municipality, which comprises 21 regencies and 151 smaller
\nkelurahan (administrative units), divides waste collection into
\nfive zones. Each zone comprises five regencies at the most.<\/p>\n
However, the city's waste management service has left
\nresidents unsatisfied as almost half of the daily household waste
\nis not collected.<\/p>\n
The municipality has only 98 garbage trucks, with 1,794
\nemployees to collect the garbage and deliver it to the dumpsites
\nin the rural areas of Namobintang, Deli Serdang and Kelurahan
\nTerjun, Medan Labuhan.<\/p>\n
The administration's waste policy will soon face strong
\ncriticism from the council.<\/p>\n
Council deputy speaker Ibrahim Sakti Batubara said the policy
\nto reenact the bylaw had come far too late and was not effective
\nin dealing with the waste problem in the city.<\/p>\n
Carrying out raids to stop litter being deposited, said
\nBatubara, was not the solution.<\/p>\n
\"What the administration should do is find a way to collect
\nthe waste and take it to the dumpsite as soon as possible,\" he
\ntold The Jakarta Post at his office.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/medan-reenacts-bylaw-to-deal-with-garbage-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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