Dump starts operation, residents lingers
Dump starts operation, residents lingers
Damar Harsanto and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta/Bogor
The Bogor regency and Jakarta provincial administrations were all
set to commence the operation of the new waste processing plant
in Klapanunggal, Bojong district, Bogor, on Friday, but as of
late afternoon on Friday, no garbage trucks had arrived at the
site.
"We will prevent the garbage trucks from entering the
facility. We will block the road leading to the plant," a Bojong
resident, who requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.
Locals have rejected the establishment of the plant amid fears
that it would adversely affect their health.
Earlier this year, four Bojong residents were arrested by the
Bogor police for allegedly vandalizing a dump truck owned by the
Jakarta administration.
City spokesman Muhayat, however, gave assurances that the
plant would start operation on Friday as scheduled.
"The initial start-up is important as it will prove that the
waste processing facility will cause no harm to the residents
living around it. The evaluation of the initial operation will be
held on Monday by a joint team from both administrations," he
said.
He added that the Bogor regent, Agus Utara Effendi, had
written to the Jakarta governor, Sutiyoso, on Sept. 29 to inform
him that all the preparations had been finalized, including the
provision of equipment and machinery at the plant.
The Bogor and Jakarta administrations signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) earlier this year. The capital city appointed
PT Wira Guna Sejahtera (WGS), a subsidiary of PT Wira Gulfindo
Sarana, to operate the waste treatment facility. The operator has
invested Rp 85 billion (US$9.23 million) in the facility.
The operator said earlier that they were not going to apply
environmentally friendly bale press technology -- which
compresses waste into dry bales. Instead, they will use an
incinerator to burn the waste.
The facility can process a maximum of 2,000 tons of waste per
day, much less than Jakarta's daily total of 6,000 tons.
According to Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo, Jakarta had reached
an agreement with Bogor regency over the operation of the plant.
"We will take turns using the plant. Bogor gets the first go
this week, while we will use it during the second week of
October.
"If the operation goes in accordance with the environmental
impact analysis on the plant, then there will be no reason (for
local people) to oppose the operation of the plant."