Incinerator may put an end to garbage disposal headache

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is thinking of buying a Japanese incinerator to solve its garbage management problems, Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday.

"The city produces more than 7,000 tons of garbage daily and needs an efficient and affordable system to manage it all," Sutiyoso told reporters after a meeting with Ryuji Nakamura, vice president of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Nakamura offered the governor an incinerator as a way to manage the city's garbage.

Sutiyoso welcomed the offer, but asked for a demonstration of the machine's performance.

"Disposing of a such a huge amount of waste by using a hi-tech machine like this will be very expensive.

"We're thinking of acquiring an incinerator through a grant scheme. It will be used for trial purposes," he said.

However, he acknowledged the benefits of using the hi-tech garbage management system. "Operating one doesn't need a large space."

The governor said the city would therefore use a combination of traditional and technology-based approaches to dispose of its garbage.

Sutiyoso said the grant scheme was financially attractive.

"I'll pursue the grant because there is no interest payable on it," he said.

He said he would convey the Japanese company's proposal to the central government.

"And the central government will send an official letter in response to the offer," Sutiyoso said, adding that the price of the incinerator was not discussed at the meeting.

Data at the city's sanitation agency reveals that the city produces 25,400 cubic meters of garbage daily. Most of it -- some 22,500 cubic meters -- is dumped at Bantar Gebang in Bekasi, 30 kilometers east of Jakarta.

Bekasi residents have repeatedly filed complaints to their administration about the existence of the garbage dump. They contribute 700 cubic meters of garbage daily to the dump.

Effluent from the dump has reportedly contaminated water sources in the surrounding area and caused thousands of cases of respiratory disorders among local residents.

The city administration had allocated Rp 10 billion (US$138,000) to compensate for the losses, to clean up the dump and build a permanent health center for local residents.

In anticipation of the scheduled closure of Bantar Gebang dump in 2004, the city administration bought 80 hectares of land in Ciangir subdistrict, Tangerang, west of Jakarta.

However, the plan was opposed by both the Tangerang administration and residents. (05)