To dump or not to dump?: Jakarta weighs its options<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration has yet to decide whether it will
\nstart operating the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang dump again
\nfollowing an offer by Bekasi municipality to allow the capital to
\nresume dumping its 6,000 tons of daily garbage there.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, Governor Sutiyoso has ordered the
\nrelevant officials to discuss Bekasi's offer on the use of the
\nBantar Gebang dump with Bekasi officials,\" city spokesman Muhayat
\nsaid on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Assistant to the city secretary for development affairs, IGKG
\nSuena, and Jakarta Sanitation Agency head Selamat Limbong were
\ntasked to check if Bekasi was really serious about the offer.<\/p>\n
\"We simply don't want to be trapped into further uncertainty
\nin the future if we hurriedly decide to use the Bantar Gebang
\ndump again,\" Muhayat said.<\/p>\n
Bekasi Mayor Akhmad Zurfaih sent a letter to Sutiyoso on
\nFriday informing him that the mayor and Bekasi councillors had
\nagreed to allow Jakarta the dump its garbage in Bantar Gebang
\nbased on the joint agreement between the administrations of
\nJakarta and Bekasi dated Dec. 22.<\/p>\n
Jakarta closed down the dump last week after Bekasi demanded
\nthe capital pay a waste processing fee of Rp 85,000 (US$10) for
\neach ton of waste.<\/p>\n
The closure led to a garbage crisis in the two cities, which
\nboth use the dump, that has lasted for more than a week. In the
\nmeantime, Jakarta began to dump its waste in swampy, open land in
\nCilincing and Rorotan subdistricts, both in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Playing down the waste crisis in the capital, Muhayat said
\nthat the city administration would keep focusing on its plan to
\ninvite investors to provide high technology waste management
\nfacilities for Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"These investors will build the facilities for us. That's why
\nwe are not putting any allocations in the 2004 budget to finance
\nthe building of high-tech waste facilities,\" he asserted.<\/p>\n
In the budget allocation for sanitation, the sanitation agency
\nhas not earmarked any funds for high technology waste management
\nfacilities. Instead, it has allocated Rp 25 billion to compensate
\nBekasi for the use of Bantar Gebang.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/to-dump-or-not-to-dump-jakarta-weighs-its-options-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}