Kapuk Angke buried in plastic

Kapuk Angke buried in plastic

JAKARTA: Piles of garbage, consisting mostly of plastic bags,
were seen on Saturday covering the northern Kapuk coast
stretching from Muara Angke to the Cengkareng Canal, Kompas Cyber
Media reported.

Angke Kapuk forest ranger Sapto said forest rangers were
overwhelmed by their task to keep the garbage -- which is
deposited by the 13 rivers running through Jakarta -- from
polluting the 44-hectare protected forest. Only five rangers
monitor and maintain the forest.

"Sometimes we burn the garbage that scatters along the
coastline, but there's so much garbage that we can't keep up. So
we've decided to clean only the garbage that has encroached the
forest," he said.

Jakarta produces about 6,000 tons of garbage per day. Although
several city dumps exist in the capital, many residents,
especially those who live near riverbanks, opt to throw out their
household waste into the river.

No official data is available as to the amount of garbage
dumped into Jakarta's rivers, but almost all rivers -- and other
natural and man-made waterways -- are visibly clogged with
garbage, believed to be the main cause of annual flooding in the
capital. -- JP