Pramono: Temporary Waste Storage Sites Inefficient and Inflate Costs
Governor of DKI Jakarta, Pramono Anung, has emphasised that he does not approve of the temporary waste storage practice that occurred in the Tanah Kusir Cemetery area. He assured that this policy will not be continued because it is considered ineffective and instead adds to the management burden.
“To be honest, I am grateful for the incident in Pesanggrahan yesterday. Because of that, I have finally decided that there should no longer be temporary storage sites like that,” Pramono stated in Central Jakarta on Friday (27/3).
He acknowledged that the waste issue occurred ahead of Eid, triggered by disruptions in the processing zone at TPST Bantargebang. The landslide in Zone 4 caused waste distribution to be stalled for some time.
“So, almost a week before Eid, there was indeed a waste problem in Jakarta. Because Zone 4 at Bantargebang, when it collapsed, was only handled about 10 days ago. But now it’s ready,” he explained.
He assured that the situation is now starting to be under control. Waste that was temporarily stockpiled at several points is now being transported back to processing facilities.
“If you look now, practically the waste that was temporarily stockpiled is starting to be transported back by us,” he said.
Pramono assessed that the temporary storage scheme is not only inefficient but also complicates governance and increases operational costs.
“Because first, it’s not efficient, second, the management becomes more difficult, third, the costs will definitely be higher. Therefore, temporary storage is not allowed, not permitted,” he stressed.
Previously, the Head of the DKI Jakarta Environmental Agency, Asep Kuswanyo, explained that from the beginning, the emplacement or temporary waste site was indeed intended as a temporary storage for waste from river cleaning, not household waste.
This system has been running since 2014 to accelerate the transportation of waste from river flow areas in the Pesanggrahan, Kebayoran Baru, to Kebayoran Lama areas. However, he acknowledged that field management needs improvement to avoid negative perceptions in society.
“The existence of this emplacement is to accelerate the handling of waste in water bodies. But the management will continue to be evaluated to be more orderly and environmentally friendly,” he stated.