Rubbish Piles Up on Main Road at Angke Market in West Jakarta, Causing Traffic Jams and Chaos

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Piles of rubbish are mounting up in the Angke Market area, Tambora, West Jakarta, causing chaotic conditions and traffic congestion on Friday (8/5/2026). Kompas.com observations at the location on Friday afternoon showed rubbish piled up along Angke Station Road, right in front of a row of unused stalls. The rubbish piles occupy almost half of the road surface. The rubbish consists of large plastic bags in red, black, and blue containing household waste as well as organic waste from market stalls. In addition, there are towering piles of wooden crates reaching as high as the stall roofs. The foul odour from the rubbish piles can be smelled as far as the nearby traders’ stalls. “That’s from the residents. If it’s from market people, they put it over there, a little. There’s a place for rubbish, there’s management, Makindo, there’s a special place. But over there (on the roadside), it’s the residents,” said Siti when met at the location on Friday. Siti explained that residents are forced to dump rubbish on the roadside because rubbish trucks cannot enter the settlement area with its narrow roads. The location was chosen because it is easier for rubbish trucks to access. However, she admitted that residents from other areas also frequently dump rubbish in front of Angke Market at night using motorbikes. “It’s collected every day, every morning at 08.00 or 07.30 WIB. If the driver or management can’t do it, then it might be two days, three days (before it’s collected). But if there’s time, usually every day,” she said. According to Siti, congestion in the Angke Market area is also influenced by the narrow roads and high volume of vehicles. Regarding traffic conditions, Siti feels that traders are often made scapegoats. She instead believes that vehicles parking haphazardly also worsen the congestion. “In my opinion, the traders are not at fault. Sorry, everyone is looking for a scapegoat. In my opinion, the scapegoat is the bajaj. Bajaj like that sometimes park in front of shops, just sitting there, and if you ask them to move, they won’t,” Siti complained.