City no closer to solving garbage problem

Evi Maryani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta produces more than 6,000 tons of garbage every day, and its disposal has become a growing concern.

The latest agreement between the city administration and the Bekasi municipality allows the city to use the Bantar Gebang dump site in Bekasi until the end of this year.

However, the agreement, which has cost the city administration Rp 8.75 billion (about US$983,000), does not guarantee that Jakarta can continue to use the dump afterwards.

"I have told the City Sanitation Agency many times to stop Jakarta's dependency on using other areas, even though the land belongs to the city. We have to abandon using a landfill at the dump," said Governor Sutiyoso.

Since the dispute erupted over the Bantar Gebang dump, the administration has been seeking alternative ways in which to dispose of Jakarta's 6,000 tons of garbage. "We've been pulling out all the stops to find a new way to manage waste," said Selamat Limbong, the chief of the City Sanitation Agency.

Since 2001, the administration has signed six memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with investors who plan to establish companies that will turn garbage into electricity, compost and ethyl alcohol.

However, of the six memorandums signed, only one has shown any promise.

PT Wira Gulfindo is building a plant in Bojong, Bogor, which will be ready to operate in June. The plant will be able to process 1,500 tons of garbage a day, which will be sorted beforehand by scavengers. Waste that cannot be reused or recycled will be compressed into a solid material that will not emit a smell.

"What happens to that solid material is not our problem anymore. We will let the company handle that," said Selamat.

He said that the administration would supply 1,500 tons of garbage every day and pay the company Rp 53,000 for each ton.

Besides the plant in Bojong, the administration has also signed a memorandum with PT Interindo Global to build a plant in Duri Kosambi, West Jakarta. The plant will process 1,000 tons of garbage every day into solid and liquid fertilizer.

"I hope construction of the plant can start in April," he said.

Meanwhile, another memorandum, signed with an investor from China to process at least 1,000 tons of garbage into electricity, has not shown any progress since it was signed in August last year.

"We had planned to put the plant in Marunda, North Jakarta, since it is beside the sea and the technology requires a lot of water. But we don't have any land there and we also don't have enough money to buy land to clear an area for it," he said.

The three other memorandums have also been hampered by various obstacles, such as technical and financial difficulties.

There is no clear or definite solution for Jakarta's waste disposal problem on the horizon.

Selamat Limbong said that time was running out.

"We are struggling to settle some deals to manage the garbage in a new, innovative way -- one that is profitable for us. If other countries can do it, why can't we?" he said.

He said the administration was still open to new investments for processing garbage in Jakarta. "The administration has land in Tegal Alur, West Jakarta, but it is a swampy area so it will need to be developed before any construction can take place. If there is any investor that wants to build a plant there, we can assist in providing the infrastructure, such as asphalt roads, to access the area," he said.