Jakarta closes Bantar Gebang dump site -- for real
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After 17 years of using the Bantar Gebang dump site in Bekasi municipality to dispose of its 6,000 tons of waste daily, Jakarta began closing down the 104-hectare garbage dump on Sunday.
The decision was not made in order to appease the residents living around the dump or the non-governmental organizations worried about environmental damage, but because Jakarta did not want to be "cornered" by Bekasi.
The order to close Bantar Gebang came from Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso as the owner of the land located in Ciketing, Sumur Batu and Cikiwul subdistricts.
"We are disappointed with statements made by Bekasi Deputy Mayor (Mochtar Muhammad) where he always tries to corner us. We don't want them to think that Jakarta is a loser (in any negotiation)," Jakarta city spokesman, Muhayat, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Muhayat would not reveal which statements had angered the Jakarta governor.
Mochtar, however, denied that his administration was trying to "blackmail" Jakarta, by asking for Rp 85,000 (US$10) for each ton of garbage dumped. He argued that the money would be used to improve the waste management systems and to pay compensation to around 12,000 families living in three subdistricts around the dump.
"Ibu Sri from BPPT says the waste treatment cost is around Rp 120,000 and we're only asking for Rp 85,000. Is that so high?," he said, referring to Sri Bebassari, a waste management expert from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).
Mochtar said, however, that his administration would accept Jakarta's decision to close Bantar Gebang's doors.
"It's not a problem at all for us," he told the Post.
He said Bekasi still had its own 10-hectare dump in Sumur Batu for its own 1,000 tons of daily waste.
Should Jakarta bow to Bekasi's demand, it would have to pay Rp 186 billion this year, far from the proposed amount of Rp 25 billion.
The demand was turned down by Jakarta's assistant to the city secretary for development affairs, Irzal Djamal, who said that it was not stated in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the two administrations. The agreement only made it clear that Bekasi would take over the management of the waste.
The contract to use the dump expired on Dec. 31.
Even though the MOU had been signed, Jakarta's trucks could not dump the trash, because the entrance was blocked by local protesters who were disappointed with the Bekasi administration's decision. The locals demanded that Bekasi close down the dump, because it had damaged the environment and endangered public health.
Nevertheless, after Bekasi administration promised to pay Rp 50,000 a month to each of the 700 families in the area, were the protesters willing to allow the trucks to enter.
Meanwhile, the trash has also begun to pile up in many areas of the capital, along with the distinctive, putrid smell of rotting garbage.
Muhayat claimed yet again that the administration had prepared four other dump sites, mostly located in North Jakarta, to accommodate the capital's daily waste. He refused to name the exact places or whether there was special technology being used to process the waste.