Sanitation agency to manage market waste

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

City market operator PD Pasar Jaya will save about Rp 10 billion (US$1.18 million) annually from its waste removal budget by contracting with the Jakarta Sanitation Agency to pick up the trash.

"The sanitation agency will start removing the waste and transporting it to the dump next January at the latest," PD Pasar Jaya president director Prabowo Sunirman said on Thursday at City Hall.

"The Rp 10 billion that we save can be used to increase our contribution to the city's coffers by up to Rp 11 billion next year from a targeted Rp 5 billion this year," he said.

PD Pasar Jaya controls 151 traditional markets with total assets of over Rp 50 trillion, yet each year it fails to make a significant contribution to the city budget.

While there are no definite figures for the market operator's 2003 revenue, Prabowo estimates it at between Rp 4 billion and Rp 5 billion, a significant increase from the Rp 1.4 billion in revenue in 2002.

However, many kiosks at the city's traditional markets have been left vacant as traders move into cleaner and more comfortable spaces at air-conditioned malls and shopping centers.

PD Pasar Jaya currently transports the daily waste from its 151 markets to the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi using its own trucks. The market operator spends about Rp 20 billion annually on waste removal, including the maintenance of its 60 trucks and the salaries of its sanitation workers.

Prabowo said the operator was still discussing the technicalities of the trash removal with the sanitation agency.

"We are considering placing at least one large Dumpster at each market to ease the removal process," he said.

With trash removal being handled by the sanitation agency, the market operator will be able to focus its attention on improving the markets under its supervision, particularly their sanitation.

Most markets under PD Pasar Jaya's management are notorious for the piles of rotting garbage, the result of the random trash removal schedule. Every day, the 151 markets produce at least 400 tons of waste.

The Jakarta Sanitation Agency already is responsible for handling the 6,000 tons of waste produced in the capital each day.