Hi-tech garbage facility hits a snag during trial

Damar Harsanto and Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bogor

The second trial of the bale press garbage processing system at the Jakarta administration's Bojong dump in Klapanunggal district, Bogor, experienced a hitch as the management of the dump, PT Wira Guna Sejahtera, used the wrong type of garbage in the demonstration.

In the trial, which was supervised by Swedish instructor Mikael Ivarsson and Bogor councillors, the machine successfully pressed five tons of organic waste into a large block that is air-tight and covered in water-resistance material within five minutes.

But a tree branch from an earlier load got stuck in a net inside the machine -- which is worth about Rp 4 billion (US$470,588), breaking it.

"The bale press machine can only process nonorganic waste. But because it is only a trial we used organic waste. Next time, before it arrives here from Jakarta, the garbage will be sorted first," PT Wira Guna Sejahtera president Sofyan Hadi Wijaya explained.

Following the reopening of Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi last Tuesday, Governor Sutiyoso said on Thursday his office would no longer need the alternative dump in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

"We will close the Cilincing dump soon as we will use the Bantar Gebang dump again," Sutiyoso said.

He did not mention the exact date of the closure.

Although Sutiyoso's statement contradicted subordinate Selamat Limbong, head of the city sanitation agency, the dump closure would obviously bring a wave of relief to the residents who live around the 15-hectare site.

The liquid waste generated from garbage left unprocessed since Jan. 5 has seeped into locals' fish farms through the water canals, killing all the fish and shrimps. The farmers say they will have to wait for at least five years to restart the business.

On Tuesday, the reopening day of the Bantar Gebang dump, Limbong said his office would still dump some of its 6,000 tons of daily garbage at Cilincing. The Cilincing dump, he said, would also be upgraded to a high technology waste treatment plant.

Sutiyoso said his administration would give compensation to Cilincing locals whose fishponds were destroyed by the liquid waste from the dump and take action to stem environmental damage.

On Wednesday, the 24 Cilincing fish farmers lodged a complaint at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, demanding Rp 340 million (about US$40,476) in compensation from the Jakarta administration for polluting their fish ponds.