Wet or dry? It's all garbage to students<\/p>\n
P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The newly installed color-coded garbage bins across the city seem
\nto be of little use to students of schools in Blok M, South
\nJakarta, and on Jl. Salemba, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The students told The Jakarta Post earlier this week that they
\nwere confused by the system whereby \"wet garbage\" was to be
\nplaced in the blue bins, and \"dry garbage\" in the orange ones. To
\nbe honest, most students said, they could only guess at what the
\ndifference between \"wet\" and \"dry\" garbage actually was.<\/p>\n
\"Dry leaves can be classified as \"dry\" trash, while \"wet\"
\ntrash is everything that is wet, including paper which can absorb
\nwater. Is that right?\" asked Ina, 18, hopefully, a student of SMU
\n6 state high school in Bulungan, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Anita, 16, a high school student of Yayasan Penabur, on Jl.
\nSalemba, Central Jakarta, said that the \"wet\" bin was to
\naccommodate wet plastic and anything else that was wet, so that
\nthe bad odor of spoiled goods would not permeate the \"dry\" trash.<\/p>\n
Aulia, 17, a student of SMU 70 state high school in Bulungan,
\nSouth Jakarta, said that the confusion would end if the city
\nadministration used the terms \"organic\" and \"inorganic\" instead
\nof \"wet\" and \"dry\".<\/p>\n
\"Using 'organic' and 'inorganic' would be more accurate,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He explained that the terms \"wet\" and \"dry\" were misleading as
\npeople disposed anything wet into the depths of the blue bin, and
\ndry trash into the orange bin, even if the \"trash\" consisted of
\ndry leaves -- which were in fact, as organic waste, supposed to
\nbe deposited into the blue bin.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Sanitation Agency has installed the pairs of blue
\nand orange trash bins across the city. According to the agency,
\nthe blue bin is supposed to accommodate organic waste or trash
\nthat will decompose quickly, while the orange bin is to
\naccommodate \"dry\" garbage or recyclable waste.<\/p>\n
Guidelines printed on the front of the bins explain that, the
\nblue bin is for leftover food, leaves and trash from the kitchen;
\nwhile the orange bin is for paper, cans, fabric, plastic,
\ncardboard, rubber, metal and glass.<\/p>\n
Head of the sanitation agency, Selamat Limbong, had said
\nearlier that the purpose of installing the bins was to increase
\nJakartans' awareness of the importance of good sanitation.<\/p>\n
The students admitted that their schools had not provided them
\nwith adequate information on how to deal with their daily trash
\nin an environmentally friendly manner.<\/p>\n
\"The teacher does not give us detailed information on how we
\nshould treat our daily garbage. He only asked us not to litter in
\npublic places,\" said Ivan, a SMU 6 state high school student.<\/p>\n
The students realize that waste has become a major concern for
\na big city like Jakarta, especially after the Bantar Gebang dump
\nin Bekasi municipality -- which had accommodated the capital's
\n6,000 tons of daily waste since 1986 -- was closed down last
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Jakarta then dumped its waste on temporary dumps, but
\nunfortunately much of the rubbish ended up on open land and
\ncaused environmental damage to surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
\"We know that there is another way to manage our waste, but we
\nonly know a little about that,\" said Anton, 17, another SMU 6
\nstudent.<\/p>\n
All the students complained about the lack of information
\nprovided by the city administration.<\/p>\n
\"The administration should have familiarized the public on how
\nto use the garbage bins via posters, or promoted the idea through
\nelectronic media,\" suggested Yesi, a student of SMU 70 state high
\nschool.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wet-or-dry-its-all-garbage-to-students-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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