Rubbish Piles in Angke Flats, West Jakarta, Once Reached Heights of Residents' House Roofs

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Towering piles of rubbish accumulated in the Angke rental flats area, Tambora, West Jakarta, for nearly one month. Local residents described the rubbish mountains as once reaching the height of the roofs of nearby shanty houses. Based on observations by Kompas.com at the site on Friday (3/4/2026), the situation has gradually improved as workers began the cleanup, deploying two large-sized compactor trucks. The rubbish piles even left behind pools of black water, swarming flies, and a pungent rotten stench along the roads in the flats area. Royyan (48), one of the flat residents, stated that the rubbish piles indeed once blocked roads and reached the height of residents’ houses. “Lately, since Ramadan, with the Bantargebang incident, it got really bad, everything piled up, really high,” said Royyan when met by Kompas.com at the location on Friday (3/4/2026). Royyan explained that the rubbish piles once completely blocked residents’ access roads, particularly in the alleys between Blocks C and D of the Angke flats. “So, for motorbikes, there used to be alleys here, we should be able to pass through, but now we can’t. The alleys are covered, the roads are covered by the rubbish. Covered by rubbish, so in the end, we have to take another route,” he clarified. Ika, Chair of RT 10 RW 03, complained that residents were greatly disturbed, especially by the smell and flies infesting the flats. “Oh dear, it’s not just the smell, it’s really bad. Especially since I have young children. The flies are the worst, especially if it rains, flooding. There are maggots that climb up there,” Ika lamented. Chair of RT 07 RW 11, Suherman, explained that the rubbish mountains were triggered by an uneven waste collection system by PPSU workers. The workers were said to often only collect piles from the front area of the flats, while the back was left to accumulate and overflow onto the roads. “Even before the Bantargebang landslide, this rubbish problem already existed because they didn’t collect it regularly. So, the rubbish in the front is collected, but the back isn’t,” Suherman revealed.