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)