Many people throw away garbage into the river

Many people throw garbage into the river without realizing that it could result in floods. The Jakarta Post interviewed several people on the problem.

Darimah, 51, a vendor for 20 years and whose kiosk is located near the West Flood Canal in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. She has four children and seven grandchildren:

I throw some bits of garbage into the river here. But I keep other stuff and also plastic waste for the garbage man when he comes to take it away.

I always get annoyed with anyone who dumps garbage into the river carelessly. I warn them that it could cause floods and make the canal smell.

I even quarreled with a person who threw waste into the river. I warned him because the district chief ordered us to prevent anyone from throwing litter into the river.

I'm not educated but I really feel bad about how ignorant some people are for dumping waste into the river.

Matkolil, 40, is a scavenger who sells recyclables to his boss in Petamburan, Central Jakarta. He has one child and a wife in Purwodadi, Central Java:

Many times I see people throw their garbage into the river. Once I asked them if they were afraid of flooding. They replied that it did not matter because during the rainy season the water would carry the trash away.

Atim, 27, is a beggar and scavenger living under the Karet Flyover in Central Jakarta. He comes from Banten. He spends his days with his parents and siblings along the West Flood Canal:

I think beggars like us who live under the bridge have more awareness of the environment (than most people). You can see that we pick up the trash that is dumped into the river because it turns into extra income for us.

I blame the rich who live near the river for carelessly dumping garbage. I see those people every day throwing several bags of garbage into the river.

Despite our shabby appearance, we understand about an unhealthy life and the illnesses brought about by a poor environment.

We have the same right to live in the city as the rich. I just hope that they stop dumping their trash into the river so that we can do our washing and bathing.

Budi, not his real name, is an employee of a construction company. He has been living along the Kali Malang channel in East Jakarta with his wife and three children for 10 years:

I can say that public awareness of the garbage issue is quite good in my neighborhood, despite the fact that we live along the river.

Most of us dump our garbage in the designated places in the neighborhood. We realize that we should not pollute the river because it is our source of tap water.

The only problem is that many times the officials responsible for the river's sanitation forget to cut the wild grass along the riverbanks.

-- Leo Wahyudi S