People discover lucrative business in waste recycling
By Danis Purwono
JAKARTA (JP): With over 10 million people living in Jakarta, imagine how much waste they collectively produce each day. You can get an idea simply by watching how many bags of garbage you throw out every day, or by looking at how filthy the city's rivers are.
Currently the city generates around 6,000 tons of garbage every day, or about three kilograms per person.
Most houses in Jakarta, or 70.15 percent, prefer to entrust their garbage disposal problem to the city sanitation service, according to the 1998 Indonesia Health Profile.
The report disclosed that the rest of Jakartans disposed of their waste differently. Around 9.85 percent of people burned their garbage, 4.76 percent tossed it into the rivers, 1.59 percent simply threw their garbage away, 0.76 percent made it into compost and 8.6 percent used other methods.
People's bad habits in dealing with waste is the result of the city's unclear garbage management system, not to mention the lack of efforts to socialize waste management involving members of the community.
Worse still, the scale of the garbage problem is simply viewed as based on the amount of waste that can be accommodated at the final dumping site, or TPA. So far, the city's waste management plan only aims at providing more facilities like trucks, more dumping sites, bulldozers and street sweepers.
Currently, the country's waste management is still based on a system of collecting, transporting and dumping. In fact, most cities, or 86 percent, are still using the open dumping system -- letting the garbage dry under the sun before burning it.
Jakarta now very much depends on the 108-hectare final dumping site in Bantar Gebang, some 40 kilometers east of Jakarta.
In operation since Aug. 29, 1989, with a planned use until 2004, the dumping site was earlier planned to accommodate 18,000 cubic meters of garbage per day. But in reality, it receives 21,876 cubic meters per day.
The problem does not stop there. Out of the city's 823 garbage trucks, only 684 of them are in working order.
"The city spends Rp 100 billion per year for trucks and garbage disposal. Actually, the administration should provide 2,000 trucks for four return trips daily, but the number of existing trucks are only one third of the number needed and they can only do two return trips because of the distance to the dumping site and traffic congestion," said expert Sri Bebasari, a waste researcher from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Directorate of Environmental Studies.
In the end, it is Jakartans who experience the impacts of environment problems caused by poor garbage management, such as health-related problems like allergies, diarrhea and respiratory infections.
A recent study in North Jakarta even indicated the dumping site was responsible for the spread of Aedes mosquitoes which cause dengue fever. Since there are plenty of used cans, tires and other items filled with water, the site is a perfect breeding ground for the mosquitoes.
Moreover, as Jakarta's 12 rivers empty into an estuary in North Jakarta, the mayoralty is made responsible for cleaning up the filthy rivers. Last year, the North Jakarta mayoralty office collected 52,424 cubic meters of garbage from the river. Only 40,000 cubic meter could be relocated.
According to the World Bank 1996 report, garbage burning was responsible for 8 percent of Jakarta's air pollution, especially dust particles and hydrocarbon. The smog which can cover a radius of 10 kilometers causes respiratory infections, choking and eye irritation, let alone other risks if the garbage produces toxic fumes.
At Bantar Gebang, one can smell the pungent offensive odor of garbage from as far away as 10 kilometers. Most prevalent diseases near the site, among other things, are breathing problems, anemia, skin diseases, allergy, asthma, rheumatism and hypertension.
Clean water is another problem. A recent study showed that out of 35 samples of groundwater around residential areas near the dumping site, 15 of them, or 42.76 percent, did not meet health standards and had low pH level indicating high acidity. Wells located around 75 to 100 meters from the site did not meet clean water standards.
A 100-hectare plot of land in Ciangir, South Tangerang, will be a the new site to replace Jakarta's present garbage dump.
Self-management
Actually, a waste management system which begins right from each household was introduced in 1991 which even offered business opportunities.
Under the system, garbage is separated at home, into organic and nonorganic waste (paper, plastics, glass, metals and so on).
At temporary dumping sites in residential areas, organic waste can be processed into compost, while nonorganic waste is collected by scavengers. The remaining rubbish is transported to the final dumping site. Under this system, residents do not rely much on garbage trucks while at the same time, it would considerably reduce garbage both on the land and in the rivers.
The Center for Policy and Implementation Studies (CPIS) along with government offices and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) developed garbage recycling to produce a compost business (UDPK). They also set up 13 UDPK for Jakarta's five mayoralties. However, efforts to introduce the system failed although there was still a demand for compost.
The system was then studied by the solid waste management technology group, BPPT and the Indonesia Recycling Improvement Forum (IRIF). The system was then developed into small industrial recycling units (IKDU) centered at each temporary dumping site. Each unit comprises 1,000 families and is capable of handling 10 to 20 cubic meters, or two tons of garbage per day in a 400 square meter plot of land and involves 15 workers.
The facilities cost about Rp 250 million for each unit of 2,000 families. Funds can be obtained from a soft loan scheme with an annual interest rate of 12 percent.
"Each family pays off the loan by paying between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 per month outside their (routine) garbage collection fees. After five to six years, the loan will be repaid. In a 12- month period each unit can produce 12 tons of compost and 80 tons of recycled materials such as paper, plastic pellets, metals and batako bricks (from ash). The market potential is there and orders for the bricks have even been placed," explained IRIF's executive director, Bambang Heruhadi.
IKDU pilot projects are now underway in subdistricts in Pondok Kopi in East Jakarta and Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta. The city's sanitation agency supports the program by providing Rp 600 million as a grant. This system will also be developed in Batam (Riau), Tegal (Central Java), Bandar Lampung (Lampung), and Tengggarong and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan.
"But the way housewives sort their garbage is still influenced by the way the city manages garbage. Under the old system, housewives would think the garbage would be mixed together in the trucks and the final dumping sites anyway. If the city's garbage management system was clear and supportive, 90 percent of residents would be willing to separate their garbage," explained Sri Bebasari, who studied housewives' attitudes toward their garbage in Kebon Kacang low cost apartments in Central Jakarta from 1990 to 1996.
"Creating a waste management system is more complicated than making an aircraft or subway. Singaporeans might have become disciplined after 30 years, and that's due to (strong) legal enforcement, not awareness."
It works
Some Jakarta residents are aware of the need to manage their garbage properly.
For instance, Banjarsari residents in West Cilandak, South Jakarta have sorted out their garbage, made compost and recycled paper since 1994. The residents even set up an environment committee comprising 169 families living in an area of around 16 hectares.
"We apply the 4-R principle: reduce, reuse, recycle and replant," said Harini Bambang Wahono, who is the committee supervisor.
Residents sort out organic and nonorganic garbage before disposing of it at the temporary dumping site. Some families even use their organic waste to create compost at their homes, grow medicinal plants and regreen their surrounding environment. The paper is recycled by the committee while the rest of the garbage is then taken away by the trucks.
Every month, the committee organizes a recycled material sale from and for its residents. They also use compost and used mineral water bottles to plant around 200 medicinal plants for families. For instance, Harini, a local resident, is able to reap Rp 200,000 in profits from her side job, selling recycled paper, compost fertilizer and medicinal plants.
In the end, the community program, which receives support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Kirai Indonesia Foundation, helps managing waste in the neighborhood while at the same time, it provides income for the residents and benefits the environment.
Soon, with this system, which will also be implemented in several areas in North Jakarta, we will live in a clean city and there will be no further need of garbage trucks.