Laundry owners agree to wash dirty linen elsewhere
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Owners of polluting laundry plants in Sukabumi Selatan subdistrict, West Jakarta, are unperturbed by the City Council's threat to shut down their businesses.
"If the residents want us out, there is nothing we can do except follow whatever decision is made," Helmy, one of the owners, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. "Hopefully it will not be too far from here, where my customers are."
There are at least 50 garment processing plants laundering jeans in the area that dispose of liquid waste in the river, prompting residents to file a protest with the City Council. The City Council has agreed to relocate the laundry plants to more suitable areas, such as Cakung in East Jakarta, Semanan in West Jakarta, and Cibubur in West Java.
The garment processing plants, which employ around 40 to 50 workers each, use harsh chemicals to fade jeans in keeping with market tastes. Waste from these laundries, contains a cocktail of different chemicals that include fabric dyes, which are extremely toxic to the environment.
Another laundry owner, Heny, who has run a garment making operation, laundry and a jeans store for the past 20 years, blamed newcomers whom she said did not abide by procedures in opening such a business.
"Those unlicensed laundries are greedy. They want to launder, but they don't have enough money to afford a complete system like the one I have. No wonder the neighborhood doesn't like them. I think they should be closed down," Heny told the Post.
The unlicensed plants have been operating for about five years without the approval of the authorities. Several businesspeople claim city officials who have granted permission for the operation of the jeans laundering businesses have accepted bribes.
In a hearing with the City Council's Commission D on development, deputy head of the Sukabumi Selatan Laundry Plants Association, Bustami, said the businesspeople bribed the city officials to obtain a permit and other documents.
Bustami declined to mention the names of the officials or the amount of money.
However, Helmy claimed that he only gave money to officials who visited the laundry during holidays, like Idul Fitri or Independence Day "for a chat".
"At that time they would ask for an amount of money ... not much, just a couple of hundred thousand rupiah. We call it a tip. We also give tips to the subdistrict's military task force (Babinsa)," he added.
Responding to that, Sukabumi Selatan subdistrict head Taufik Chandra denied allegations of bribery.
"I have been working in the subdistrict for 11 months, I have never heard of any attempt made to legalize the operation of the laundries by the subdistrict office," said Taufik.
"I don't know if any of my staff or other officials before my term have 'visited' the laundry owners. If this is the case, I will surely take action."