City considers relocating poultry slaughterhouses

City considers relocating poultry slaughterhouses

JAKARTA (JP): The city hopes to improve its handling of the
waste produced by poultry slaughterhouses by relocating them to
less residential areas.

The head of the city's husbandry agency, Soemitro, said
yesterday that his office and related agencies are reviewing a
plan to find new locations.

Most of the slaughterhouses are located in residential areas
because they are close to markets. As a result, the surrounding
areas are being contaminated due to waste treatment problems at
the slaughterhouses.

He added, however, that relocation poses several problems.

"We also have to think about people losing their jobs.

"Maybe we'll use a slaughterhouse owned by PD Dharma Jaya in
Cakung, East Jakarta, as a pilot project," he said, without
specifying when the project might begin.

"Chicken waste takes time to treat and not all of the
slaughterhouses have the facilities. The agency has been helping
some of them with simple waste treatment facilities by building
septic tanks," he said.

However, he said, septic tanks are not enough to significantly
reduce the effects of waste on the surroundings.

He said several chicken farmers have bought land in Cigudeg,
Bogor, West Java, and plan to relocate their farms there.

Nearly 1,300 slaughterhouses operate in five mayoralties,
slaughtering 250,000 chickens per day.

"They can meet the demands in Jakarta, except for hotels and
international restaurants," he said. (yns)