City hopes to incinerate trash problem
Damar Harsanto and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta/Bogor
The Jakarta administration is insisting on installing four incinerators by 2007 to end the prolonged waste crisis, despite a similar project three years ago failing.
In a discussion on the administration's development proposal on Friday, many councillors questioned why the administration had not learned from experience.
"We think the administration should revise the plan. The administration should at least tell us the reason why the last project failed," said Zaenudin of the Golkar Party faction.
Tarmidi Edy Suwarno of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction also questioned whether the administration could guarantee that the project would be successful. "If the project fails, we'll again witness another case of the city budget being squandered."
Acknowledging the past failure, Governor Sutiyoso blamed the private companies that provided the incinerators "which are locally made and below the standards required by the administration".
Sutiyoso assured that, if approved, his administration would involve experts in the project.
However, a feasibility study has yet to be conducted on the application of the costly, high-tech incinerators, said Sri Bebassari, an expert on waste.
"The administration should at least carry out a feasibility study for three years," Sri, from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) told The Jakarta Post.
She added that large incinerators would be far more effective than the small ones the administration had procured earlier.
"One large incinerator, which can burn 1,000 tons of waste per day, could cost up to Rp 1.3 trillion (about US$142 million)," she warned.
The administration has 15 incinerators procured between 2000 and 2001. The incinerators cost the city more than Rp 5 billion. However, they require a large amount of kerosene to operate, rendering them inefficient.
Sources at the City Sanitation Agency revealed that the new incinerators, which can process a maximum of 2,000 tons of garbage each per day, will be placed in various places in the city, including Duri Kepa and Rawa Buaya, in West Jakarta.
Jakarta has had difficulty dealing with its 6,000 tons of daily waste since 2002, when residents around the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi demanded its closure due to health concerns.
Jakarta's plan to operate a high-tech waste treatment plant in Bojong subdistrict, Klapanunggal, Bogor, has also hit strong opposition from local residents.
Bogor Council decided on Friday to halt its operation, arguing that, apart from people's objections, the Bojong waste treatment plant had no permit to operate.
"Jakarta and Bogor must first sign a cooperation agreement, such as that between Jakarta and Bekasi concerning the operation of Bantar Gebang dump," said Lalu Suryade, the chairman of Council Commission A for legal administrative affairs.