Residents Protest Against Temporary Waste Collection Site on Roadside in Kalianyar, West Jakarta

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Residents have lodged protests, including through rejection banners, against the presence of a temporary waste storage site (TPS) for rubbish on the road beside the West Flood Canal (KBB), Kalianyar, Tambora, West Jakarta. “Yes, that (banner) was indeed put up by residents because yesterday, the rubbish wasn’t collected for a long time and clearly disturbed the residents. It even caused traffic jams because of its location on the road,” said the Chairman of RT 12 RW 01 Kalianyar, M. Toyib, when met at the site on Monday. According to Toyib, the rubbish accumulation that occurred in the area is not a daily condition, but rather the impact of disruptions in deliveries to the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST) in Bekasi. “The accumulation was due to the incident at Bantargebang. There was even an instruction from the Environmental Agency on 8 March to temporarily not dispose of rubbish,” Toyib stated. As a result, rubbish piled up in the densely populated residential area and went viral on social media after being shared by protesting residents. “It was collected over two days until finished and then sterilised,” he said. Furthermore, Toyib mentioned that the reason the banner remains up despite the rubbish pile having been cleared is due to a fundamental issue that has not yet been resolved. The lack of land has forced certain residents to use the roadside as a temporary disposal site, thus triggering rejection from other local residents. “Our residents indeed reject if rubbish is dumped there again. Because it’s on the road, it’s not the right place,” Toyib emphasised. Residents hope for the relocation of the TPS to a more appropriate location, such as along the canal bank in the surrounding area. In the meantime, residents routinely pay a monthly rubbish fee of Rp10,000 in accordance with local retribution regulations. However, without adequate supporting facilities, the rubbish problem is deemed to continue recurring. “Rather than on the road, it’s better to have a TPS on the canal bank. We’ve already proposed it, even written to the relevant agency. It just needs a study and involvement from all parties,” he explained. Currently, only two trucks are available to serve the entire area covering 101 RTs and 9 RWs. “This has been happening since 2016. That means 10 years and there’s still no solution. Residents are already restless because the smell is clearly unhealthy. So, the hope is that it be moved so there are no problems in the community,” he said. On the other hand, Toyib stated that residents are also ready to support better waste management, including if there are programmes for processing and sorting rubbish. However, they hope for education and socialisation from the government. Previously, the rubbish issue in Kalianyar came under spotlight after going viral on social media. In several videos circulating from the end of Ramadan to Eid, rubbish appeared to be piled up along the road bordering the KBB from the direction of Season City towards Roxy.