City considering use of private waste sites

City considering use of private waste sites

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is considering using two
privately owned dumps in Jonggol and Karawang, West Java, to put
the 5,000 tons of trash collected daily from the capital.

"We are still considering the offer from the two companies,"
the city sanitary agency deputy head, Soegiono, said on Wednesday
on the sidelines of a meeting with City Council Commission D for
public works, development and environmental affairs in Wisma Jaya
Raya, Bogor, West Java.

He said each private dump could take about 1,500 tons a day
for a rental fee of Rp 58,000 (US$6.40) per ton.

He said if the city decided to use the two private dumps, all
the paperwork, including the environmental impact analysis
permit, would be handled by the companies.

"We would no longer have the headache of disputing with other
local administrations," he said.

Soegiono's statement came following an objection by the
Tangerang regency council to Jakarta's plan to open a 100-hectare
dump in Ciangir, Tangerang.

The councillors rejected the project, which has reportedly
started, due to fears of environmental damage, which occurred at
Jakarta's dump in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi.

Soegiono denied that the agency had started preparing the
Ciangir dump.

"We've just built a fence around the area, which needed about
Rp 2 billion from the budget," he said.

He claimed the Ciangir site had been designated as a garbage
dump last year.

Despite the councillors' objection, Soegiono said that the
city administration might go ahead with the plan if it secured
approval from the Tangerang administration.

"We will only listen to the Tangerang regency administration's
decision. So far only some councillors have rejected the plan,"
he said.

The city needs a new waste site as its permit on the Bantar
Gebang dump expires in 2003.

Separately, Mustaman of City Council Commission D suggested
that the administration consider other alternatives for recycling
waste.

Mustaman, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said the administration should
consider a proposal from a private firm to recycle the city's
garbage into organic fertilizer, which uses Canadian technology.

Governor Sutiyoso, accompanied by several councillors,
recently visited Canada to witness how the garbage is recycled
into fertilizer. (jun)