Piles of rubbish starting to get up Jakartans' noses<\/p>\n
As garbage has not been collected for the last five
\ndays due to the closure of Bantar Gebang dump, residents here are
\ncomplaining of the stench of rotting garbage and have been forced
\nto manage their own household waste the best they can.<\/p>\n
\"The presence of uncollected garbage is annoying. My customers
\nhave stopped coming to my stall because they can't stand the
\nsmell,\" said Martin, a spice vendor in Jatinegara market, East
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Piles of garbage were seen in markets around the city
\nincluding Jatinegara and Kramat Jati markets in East Jakarta,
\nPasar Senen in Central Jakarta and Pasar Minggu in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
According to Martin, the situation became worse after heavy
\nrain the day before. Wet garbage decomposes even more quickly,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Faced with heaps of garbage, a sweeper at Kramat Jati market,
\nSukadi, said \"I don't know what to do. I am still sweeping the
\nalleys in the market but I can only add it the mounting piles of
\ngarbage.\"<\/p>\n
He said that he could not burn the garbage as it consisted of
\nrotten vegetables and fruits.<\/p>\n
Another garbage collector, Asep, asserted that garbage would
\ncontinue to decompose because the antibacterial spray used by the
\ncity health agency, could only reach the top of the garbage pile.<\/p>\n
\"The antibacterial chemicals could not reach the middle of the
\ngarbage piles. Therefore, it is still decomposing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Some residents complied with Governor Sutiyoso's instruction
\nto burn their garbage as a way to deal with the problem after the
\nBekasi administration closed the dump on Monday.<\/p>\n
Many residents in Kemang, Kebayoran Baru and Pondok Indah in
\nSouth Jakarta have opted to put the trash in plastic bags or
\nsacks and leave it on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
Some have decided to put the garbage in dumpsters near their
\nhomes and the rest have paid private garbage collectors to take
\nit away.<\/p>\n
Rojikin, a gardener in a house on Jl. Metro Segar, Pondok
\nIndah, told The Jakarta Post on Friday that he burnt the garbage
\nbecause the trash collectors, who usually took it, had not shown
\nup since Monday.<\/p>\n
He knew that Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi, West Java, had been
\nclosed. Therefore, he decided to burn it until the administration
\nfinds a new site.<\/p>\n
\"Every day, this house produces three sacks of garbage. I have
\nto burn it to make space for more garbage. Otherwise, we will
\nhave to suffer from the stench of rotting garbage. I can't wait
\nvery long,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
Usually, the only disposal bin in the yard, with a volume of
\n27 cubic meters, could hold household garbage for up to three
\ndays, according to the gardener, who usually burns garbage in the
\nbin after his employers go to work.<\/p>\n
In Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, sacks of garbage were seen
\non the sidewalks. Though kept in sacks, the garbage still spilled
\nover and smelt bad.<\/p>\n
\"My employers forbid me to burn garbage. They said it was
\nharmful for our health,\" said Onah, a maid working for a couple
\nwho live on Jl. Wijaya, Kebayoran Baru.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Onah and another maid, had to put the household
\ngarbage into sacks and put it on sidewalk in front of the house.
\nOn Thursday, there were six sacks placed under a tree off the
\nroad.<\/p>\n
\"The garbage hasn't been collected since Tuesday here. My
\nemployers complained about it two days ago to the sanitation
\nagency, and they promised to move it soon,\" she remarked, adding
\nthat up until Thursday there was no response from the agency.<\/p>\n
Onah expected the agency to move it soon because the garbage
\nhad begun to decompose and had started to attract rats.<\/p>\n
\"They have to move it as we pay a garbage collection fee of
\nabout Rp 20,000 (US$2) per month,\" said Onah.<\/p>\n
Residents in Kemang area in South Jakarta were not too worried
\nabout the problem because some private collectors have offered
\ntheir services to take the garbage away.<\/p>\n
\"We have to pay them Rp 3,000 a day,\" said Asih, a maid
\nworking in a house on Jl. Ampera Raya, Kemang, adding that her
\nemployers are willing to pay.<\/p>\n
According to Asih, her employers prefer to pay an additional
\nfee rather than having piles of uncollected garbage in front of
\ntheir nice house.<\/p>\n
A garbage collector, Ruwa, said that residents in the area
\nwere prepared to pay the fee as long as the collectors took it
\naway.<\/p>\n
Ruwa said that he and six other friends work for their boss,
\nwho owned dozens of carts. The carts are usually deployed to
\ntake used goods. Every day, Ruwa collects three carts of
\ngarbage.<\/p>\n
\"We leave the carts in a cemetery here. If the agency goes
\nback to work, we will dump it in a dumpster near this place so
\nthey can take it away. Otherwise, we will dump it in the cemetery
\nif the agency does not collect it within the next three days,\" he
\nasserted.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/piles-of-rubbish-starting-to-get-up-jakartans-noses-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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