DLH Jakarta Clarifies Photo of Truck Accused of Dumping Waste into Pesanggrahan River
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Jakarta Environmental Agency (DLH) has denied that one of its operational trucks was dumping waste into the Pesanggrahan River in the Tanah Kusir Public Cemetery area, South Jakarta.
This denial comes after a photo went viral on Threads showing a rubbish truck stopped near the river with its bed raised, seemingly in the act of dumping waste into the water.
The photo was posted by the account @murwidianti and taken from inside a vehicle. The image depicts a small rubbish tipper truck with a white cab and red bed stopped across the asphalt road shoulder that directly borders the river.
The truck door bears the vehicle identification “UPK Badan Air Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Provinsi DKI Jakarta T.A. 2017”.
In the photo, the truck bed appears raised at an angle, and there is a pile of waste on the slope between the road and the river surface.
“Today I went to Tanah Kusir Cemetery. On the way back, my car was blocked by a small rubbish truck that was dumping waste into the river. The writing on the truck door is clearly visible, from the Environmental Agency. So the question is, is this how the Environmental Agency operates? Dumping waste in the river?” reads the caption accompanying the photo.
In response, Dadang Cahya Rusdiana, Head of the Water Body Waste Handling Unit (UPSBA) of DLH DKI Jakarta, explained that the activity shown was part of official water body waste handling operations, not dumping into the river.
Based on field investigations, the location in question is an official temporary storage point or emplacement belonging to UPSBA in the Tanah Kusir Cemetery area, specifically in the Special Block.
“We need to clarify that there is no waste dumping into the water body. The activity shown is the official temporary storage process for waste from water bodies, and all operations at the site are well-controlled with the placement of one heavy equipment unit and daily transport to the Perintis emplacement,” said Dadang on Thursday (26/3/2026).
Dadang explained that this point is used as a transit location for waste collected from rivers and reservoirs in the Pesanggrahan and Kebayoran Lama sub-districts.
The waste is then transferred using small tipper trucks to the Perintis emplacement for further sorting by officers.
After that, residual waste is transported using large trucks with the aid of heavy equipment to the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST) for further processing.
According to Dadang, the viral photo was likely taken from a viewpoint level with the road, creating the perception that waste was being dumped into the river.
“The access road conditions in the cemetery area, which are relatively narrow, mean that waste containers cannot be placed at the site. Therefore, waste is temporarily placed on the area below the embankment as a storage point before being transported using fleets more suitable for the field conditions and still strictly controlled,” he said.
Although located near the Pesanggrahan River, all activities are carried out in the designated area and ensured not to come into contact with the water body.
“We ensure that no waste enters the water body. The site is also used to collect tree topping remnants from Tanah Kusir Cemetery by the Parks and Forestry Department (Distamhut),” Dadang clarified.
“The location is also equipped with segregation using HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) floating cubes, and all management processes are carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures,” Dadang added.