Confusion reigns over final garbage destination

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Garbage truck drivers are uncertain about where to deliver the city's rubbish following the planned closure of the Bantar Gebang dump.

Some of them expressed confidence that the site, located in Bekasi, would not in fact be closed, while others said on Saturday that they had only heard alternative locations had been proposed to replace Bantar Gebang, but none had been confirmed.

Bekasi announced earlier that the site would be closed on Monday but, at the last minute, he was forced to delay the plan indefinitely following a meeting with Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, and officials of the home affairs minister.

"On a normal day I drive the routes assigned to me and deliver the garbage to Bantar Gebang.. but I think on Monday I will discuss the situation with my supervisor at the office first," said Andang Supriatna, who is in charge of several routes in East Jakarta.

Through conversations with his friends just a few days ago, Andang learned that the garbage might have to be transported to the Gunung Sindur area, in Bogor.

"But are we really going to drive to such a distant place to unload the trash?," he asked.

Another driver, Bister Pasaribu, who transported garbage from Cawang to Bantar Gebang, said that he had not received any notification from his supervisor either.

"I'll just collect the garbage as usual on Monday, and bring it here. Perhaps it won't be closed after all," he told The Jakarta Post.

Earlier, Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso named several locations as substitute dumping sites, including Tegal Alur and Kamal Muara in West Jakarta, Cacing (Cakung-Cilincing) in North Jakarta and Pulo Gebang in East Jakarta.

However, it seems that only Cacing, which is already a garbage processing site, is ready to take in the city's waste.

Meanwhile, the scavengers at Bantar Gebang, who have built their lives around the area, were hopeful that the site would not be closed as they would have to move to other places where the garbage would later be disposed of.

"I suppose I just have to follow the garbage to its new location," said Mathadi Baijuri who has been a scavenger at Bantar Gebang since the site was established in 1986.

Nonetheless, Damat, the field supervisor officer at Bantar Gebang, said that no garbage trucks would transport waste to the dump after midnight on Sunday, as he believed the area would be closed on Monday.

"Tomorrow will be the last day for any garbage truck to deliver its trash here," he said on Saturday.