Jakartans think trash cans a load of garbage

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Don't judge the sanitary condition of Jakarta from the rows of blue and orange garbage bins you find along main roads in the capital. Take a closer look inside them first, if you have the stomach for it!

A soft drink can was seen inside the blue garbage bin, apparently newly installed on Jl. S. Parman, Slipi, West Jakarta, which bears the slogan sampah basah (wet trash) -- which means its meant only for organic waste, while its orange-colored sampah kering (dry trash) neighbor was almost full with dead leaves from the trees along the street collected by the owner of a five-and- dime stall nearby.

Etik, 33, the stall owner, said on Saturday that the pair of garbage bins had just been installed about three weeks ago. But she couldn't explain why people should separate their trash into "wet" and "dry" trash.

"We never received any information on this from the sanitation agency workers who installed the bins. They just did their job and went," she said.

New sets of garbage bins were recently installed every 30 meters along Jl. S. Parman, as well as many new ones along Jl. Tomang Raya, also in West Jakarta.

But, out of 20 locals and passers-by interviewed by The Jakarta Post, only two of them knew the proper usage of the garbage bins.

Sianipar, who works in a garage in Slipi, explained that the "wet" bin is to hold bio-degradable trash, while the "dry" bin is to accommodate recyclable trash, such as paper and cans.

Dede Sutrisno, a taxi driver who often takes a rest at a bus stop where a set of garbage bins have been installed, stressed that "the separation of the garbage is very important so that the recyclable trash will not be burnt along with the bio-degradable trash as it would only produce thick, black smoke."

"I used to be a scavenger at the Bantar Gebang dump before, so I know that the separation of the trash is a great help for the scavengers in sorting it out," Dede added.

But others, like Ajun, 21, who owns a five-and-dime stall on Jl. Tomang Raya, West Jakarta, have no idea what it's all about. "All I know is that the bio-degradable garbage bin accommodates all the trash that contains water, like wet drink cartons, for example."

Contacted later, the head of the Jakarta Sanitation Agency, Selamat Limbong, said the waste bins had been installed to increase people's awareness of the importance of good sanitation.

"They only need to read the directions written on the front of the bins to know what goes where. As easy and as simple as that ... Moreover, this would make it easier for the garbage men to collect the trash," Limbong explained.

However, the garbage men in the capital never bother to separate bio-degradable and recyclable trash when they collect it.

"Maybe this is why many people don't bother putting their trash in the right bins," said Omar, 45, who runs a small shop on Jl. Ir. H. Djuanda, Central Jakarta.

"There should be fines for those who don't put their trash in the right bins. That way, people would be more careful."