'City must empower scavengers'

The on-and-off dispute between the Jakarta and Bekasi administrations finally ended with Bekasi refusing to extend the use of the Bantar Gebang dump site. The City Sanitation Agency has only prepared a waste treatment facility in Bogor but its existence has been opposed by locals. The Jakarta Post asked some people about the possibility of a repeat of the 2001 waste crisis.

Iyus, 29, is a security officer who works in West Jakarta. He lives in Karet, South Jakarta, with his wife and daughter:

Household waste must not be treated as a trouble-free problem. This is indeed a very serious problem for city residents like us. It's sad to see that many people are indifferent to this issue.

I think it's the right time for the governor to lure investors to recycle the city's garbage. The recycled waste could result in fertilizers that will benefit the city in terms of revenue.

The city administration and all residents must also empower the scavengers. The capital is in dire need of them.

People should no longer look down on scavengers because they help us in recycling the city's garbage as there will be no dump site available in the meantime.

Empowering scavengers will minimize the problems and at the same time raise their welfare. This could be effective but it's only a temporary solution, I guess.

I can say this because I come from a scavenger family in West Java. We are pretty wealthy from this trash business.

Warto, 34, is an office boy with a company in Central Jakarta. He lives in Grogol, West Jakarta, with his wife and daughter:

I know nothing about the closure of Bantar Gebang. I know that waste is a very serious problem.

The administration is facing a dilemma in dealing with waste because it's impossible to reduce the daily volume, right?

It's confusing. If residents are encouraged to burn the waste, the smoke and smell will surely worsen the already-polluted air in Jakarta.

If it is not burned, the daily garbage will be piling up day by day in many places in the city. And it will be very annoying.

Worse still, I'm sad to observe that most residents remain unaware of the consequences of this garbage problem.

We see everyday how people still dump their waste carelessly. I hate to see it but I can do nothing to stop them.

I think the only possible way forward for the administration is to have a public campaign on how to dump household waste but still keep our environment clean.

Alfi, 30, not her real name, is a housewife living in Cipulir, South Jakarta, with her family:

Garbage is a very serious problem for the city residents. I can't imagine if someday thousands of tons of waste pile up on the streets everyday.

I think it will be the time for people to learn to care about their environment. Most urban people have poor awareness in dumping their waste.

I personally support recycling effort. All residents must sort out their waste to help ease the recycling process. The administration must launch education campaigns about this crucial issue to minimize the problem.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.