Jakarta may sink under mountain of garbage

Jakarta may sink under mountain of garbage

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta may sink under a mountain of rotting garbage within a
matter of days unless the city administration finds new
appropriate dump sites for the 25,000 cubic meters of household
trash that the city produces daily.

On Monday, the Bekasi administration closed Jakarta's dump in
Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, and only dozens of trucks managed to
dispose of trash at the site before being banned by Bekasi
administration officials. This means that far less than half of
the city's total amount of garbage was disposed of on Monday, as
800 trucks are usually required to transport Jakarta's garbage
every day.

This also means that most household garbage has been left to
pile up, either at temporary dump sites in neighborhoods, or at
transit dump sites scattered across the city.

City sanitary agency officials remain uncertain as to where to
transport the city's garbage following the closure of Bantar
Gebang dump, which was marked by clashes between scavengers who
lived on the dump and local residents who demanded the dump's
closure. The conflict resulted in the burning of two garbage
trucks and the destruction of other vehicles by local residents.

City officials confirmed on Monday that most of the day's
trash from the city had been left untransported as most garbage
trucks were not in operation.

According to city officials, some new locations were preparing
to be used while other possible locations were being scouted for.

"It is still under discussion (of where to dump the trash).
Today, there are many garbage trucks parked at the office because
it remains uncertain as to where to dump the trash," said Saman
Rachmat, an employee of the city's sanitary office in South
Jakarta.

The Bekasi administration insisted on closing the dump on
Monday due to environmental degradation it caused to the
surrounding area, not in 2003 as earlier agreed. Both disputing
parties, the Jakarta and Bekasi administrations, failed to find a
solution to the conflict after discussions, mediated by the
Ministry of Home Affairs, ended in deadlock on Sunday.

Saman said some officials inspected on Monday a location in
Gunung Sindur, Bogor, another alternative location to dump the
city's garbage. He did not elaborate on the result of their
visit.

An official at the West Jakarta sanitary office said that, in
the meantime, they would direct small trucks to a dump in the
Kapuk area, while larger trucks were to unload garbage at
Kedaung, Tangerang.

"But this will only be temporary, until we receive further
instructions," said Ratmo Muhiddin, a member of the operational
staff at the office of the West Jakarta sanitary agency.

The East Jakarta office will also be transporting their
garbage to Kapuk, as well as to Sunter, North Jakarta and Tegal
Alur in West Jakarta.

Governor Sutiyoso announced earlier that garbage would be
taken to Tegal Alur and Kamal Muara in West Jakarta, Cakung-
Cilincing area in North Jakarta and Pulo Gebang in East Jakarta.

Clashes at the Bantar Gebang dump site on Monday left two
garbage trucks burnt and 21 others damaged.

Bekasi officials were recording license numbers and slapping
stickers on some 40 garbage trucks entering the site when the
clash broke out. The stickers declared Bantar Gebang out of
bounds to garbage and all the trucks that bore the stickers.

Apparently provoked by the attitude of some locals, some
scavengers burst out of the site and chased locals. A clash
ensued, though, being outnumbered, the scavengers soon rushed for
cover back at the dump site. Locals, armed with wooden sticks,
iron bars and stones then went on the rampage. They set two
trucks ablaze and destroyed 21 other vehicles parked near the
sanitary agency building.

Boen, a supervisor at the location, said that about 500 local
people gathered in front of the site and stopped two garbage
trucks, forcing the driver to flee before torching the vehicles.
They later stormed and ransacked the office and the other trucks,
bulldozers and cars parked in the compound.

Some local residents said they could no longer tolerate the
smell, noise and polluted water. They also objected to being the
"garbage bin for Jakartans."

"It has been agreed that, as of today, Bantar Gebang will be
closed, so trash should no longer be brought here," said Wandi
Suhardi, who along with his friends stopped a garbage truck.