E. Java hopes to build fertilizer plant

E. Java hopes to build fertilizer plant

SURABAYA: The local administration has asked people living
near the Keputih dump in Sukolilo district to approve the
construction of a fertilizer plant in the area.

Speaking during a discussion broadcast by state radio RRI, the
head of the mayoralty's sanitation agency, Ismanu, told residents
that if the project went ahead it would solve the long-standing
problem of what to do with all the garbage generated by the dump.

He said an Australian investor had expressed interest in
building the fertilizer plant, which would use tons of garbage
dumped at Keputih as raw material.

"We want the residents to consider the plan, because the
factory would utilize the piles of garbage and we would no longer
have to operate the dump site," Ismanu said.

He added that the project would not cost the mayoralty
administration any money. Instead, it would receive fees from the
fertilizer plant, which would clear away the garbage in the dump
in about seven years.

But residents from the Victims of Sukolilo Garbage Forum
opposed the plan, saying they had lost faith in the local
administration.

"They promised to plant trees and normalize the environment
around the dump. And while that promise has not been met, now
they are offering us a new plan," the forum's chief, Fathoni, who
also spoke at the discussion, said. -- Antara