Bekasi sniffs profits in Bantar Gebang dump
Bekasi sniffs profits in Bantar Gebang dump
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Learning from the Jakarta administration's poor waste management,
Bekasi municipal administration will set up a city-owned company
to convert Jakarta's waste at the Bantar Gebang dump into
fertilizer and electricity.
Bekasi deputy mayor Mochtar Mohamad said on Monday that the
company would aim to manage the waste to minimize environmental
damage surrounding the dump and to get extra income.
He also said that Bekasi would likely hire experts from
Jakarta for the project.
Bekasi has insisted on closing the 104-hectare dump after its
contract with Jakarta expires on Dec. 31, although Jakarta
offered to pay Rp 25 billion (US$2.94 million) to continuing
using it.
Mochtar said that Jakarta would only be allowed to dump its
6,000 tons of daily waste at the Sumur Batu dump, owned by Bekasi
municipality, for a six-month period.
"If Jakarta administration wants to dispose of its garbage at
Sumur Batu, it must pay the price, but the figure is still being
calculated," Mochtar was quoted by Antara as saying.
Only four hectares of the 10-hectare area of Sumur Batu dump
has been allocated for Bekasi's rubbish. Up to 2,000 tons of
garbage is dumped on the four-hectare area each day.
Bekasi Municipal administration spokesman Cecep Sutandi
claimed that the dump uses a landfill system.
However, a recent analysis from non-governmental organization,
the Environment Community Union (ECU), revealed that water taken
from the wells of residents in the area contained coliform
bacteria, cyanide, chloride, cadmium, chrome, zinc and mercury,
which are believed to derive from the dump.
The contaminated water has allegedly killed vegetation in the
area and caused locals to suffer from skin problems.
ECU director, Benny Tunggul, said that the real problem behind
Bantar Gebang dump was that its waste wasn't managed efficiently.
"If the waste is managed professionally, there won't be any
environmental damage," he said, as quoted by Antara.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso told a plenary meeting of the City
Council that his administration had talked over the matter
intensively with Bekasi.
Sutiyoso did not go into details, but assistant to the city
secretary for development affairs, Irzal Djamal, said that the
talks focused on the possible extension of the use of the dump
and processing the existing garbage.
"We want to convert the existing garbage into compost and
liquid fertilizer before we use the area for Jakarta's waste
again," he said.
Jakarta has used Bantar Gebang as a dump site since 1986. Two
years ago, Bekasi closed down Bantar Gebang, the ensuing waste
crisis in the capital ended with President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's intervention. Bekasi argued that the dump caused
widespread pollution and was detrimental to the public's health.
Jakarta paid Rp 22 billion in compensation for the use of
Bantar Gebang in 2002 and 2003.