Litter louts beware as Makassar vows to cleanup

Litter louts beware as Makassar vows to cleanup

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post/Makassar

The Makassar municipal administration is getting tough on garbage
management by enforcing a 1999 bylaw to clean up the city, as
well as to prevent flooding.

Under Bylaw No. 14/1999, city residents who toss out their
trash in unauthorized places can be fined Rp 5 million (US$537)
or jailed for six months.

Makassar Mayor Ilham Arif Siradjuddin, who was sworn in three
months ago, said on Monday that the law was enacted in 1999 but
it had not been implemented properly.

Therefore, city residents who dump garbage, particularly in
public areas like streets, canals and rivers, will be punished,
he added.

"I've seen that Makassar city is not clean. Residents discard
garbage anywhere they want. That's why, I declare cleanliness and
beauty as my first program to be carried out in Makassar," Ilham
said, unveiling his list of priorities for the city after being
installed as the new mayor.

For the first stage, the bylaw would be implemented beginning
this week along six streets in Ujungpandang district -- Jl. Somba
Opu, Riburanne, Jenderal Sudirman, Ahmad Yani, Haji Bau and
Penghibur.

The mayor said the six areas were chosen due to their
strategic locations in the middle of the city and the center of
its economic activities and entertainment places including Losari
beach.

Three months later, the bylaw's implementation will be
extended to other areas across Makassar, he added.

"Beginning today (Monday) the bylaw is effective. If people
dump garbage in those areas, we will punish them," Ilham
declared.

The mayor said his administration had set up a judicial team
of police and public order officers, prosecutors and judges to
enforce the bylaw.

The local government also plans to deploy as many as 50
personnel each day at the six strategic locations with the task
of enforcing the bylaw.

Some of the personnel are stationed at certain posts while
others are mobile.

Local residents have been asked to participate in the anti-
garbage campaign by reporting bylaw violators to authorities.

Before deciding to enforce the ruling, the Makassar
administration disseminated information to the public for 45 days
through banners and sign boards.

The administration had also placed 300 trash bins along the
six streets in an effort to encourage city residents to dump
garbage properly.

Ilham said Makassar, home to some 1.3 million people, produces
3,900 cubic meters of trash daily. But not all of the garbage
ends up in designated dumps due to a lack of personnel and
vehicles.

The city needs around 1,300 personnel and 350 garbage trucks
to handle the waste, he added. Currently, it has only 600
personnel and 140 garbage trucks.

Ilham said his administration is planning to hand over the
city's trash management to the private sector.

An Australian company has set up a plant to recycle garbage
into organic fertilizer at the Antang dump in Makassar. With
production capacity of 10 tons per day, the plant is expected to
process around 80 percent of the city's garbage.