Sutiyoso plans to dump city's garbage on Bangka island
Sutiyoso plans to dump city's garbage on Bangka island
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
City Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday that he would prioritize
Bangka island, rather than Bantar Gebang, Marunda and Tegal Alur,
as an alternative dumpsite for the city's garbage.
"I shall prioritize Bangka first, instead of Marunda and Tegal
Alur," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.
He claimed that Bangka regency, which cooperated with an
Australian company in processing garbage, was already prepared to
tackle the environmental impact of garbage dumping.
The city administration signed a memorandum of understanding
on Dec. 12 with the regency of Bangka Belitung province, which
lies to the east of South Sumatra, to take some 4,000 tons of the
city's total trash output of 6,000 tons per day.
The garbage, which would be used as infill at former tin mines
in the islands, would be transported by sea.
Every day ships transport sand from Bangka, which was known as
one of the world's largest tin producers, to the city for sale.
At present, some 5,000 tons of the city's garbage are taken to
the city's main dump at Bantar Gebang in Bekasi mayoralty, while
the remaining 1,000 tons are scattered on roads and rivers.
Bekasi municipality closed Bantar Gebang dump on Dec. 10 due
to environmental damage. After intervention from the Ministry of
Home Affairs and the House of Representatives it reopened the
dump, pending the Jakarta administration's measures to comply
with new terms in a new memorandum of understanding to be signed
before the deadline of Jan.31.
But the city administration has accused the Bekasi mayoralty
of blackmail and has considered closing the Bantar Gebang dump.
It said that the mayoralty had even increased its demands, which
included compensation of Rp 100 billion (US$10 million) and a
hospital to be equipped with an x-ray facility and an emergency
unit.
The administration claimed to have been preparing smaller
dumps in the city's five mayoralties as alternatives to replace
the 104-hectare Bantar Gebang, including Marunda, in North
Jakarta and Tegal Alur in West Jakarta. But, as of Thursday, none
of the dumps was ready to accommodate the city's trash.
Jakarta has set up a crash program for Marunda and Tegal Alur
dumps, allocating Rp 18.5 billion and Rp 10 billion respectively
for their preparation.
On Monday, Sutiyoso signed a memorandum of understanding with
head of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Widjanarko Puspoyo to
use the agency's 71-hectare site at Marunda as a garbage dump.
On the same day, hundreds of Marunda residents staged a
protest at City Hall, rejecting the use of the island as a
garbage dump.
Residents of Tegal Alur also objected to the plan, unless the
city met their requirements, which included the construction of a
three-meter wall separating the location from residential areas
and the development of some public facilities.