Tangerang low on garbage trucks

JAKARTA (JP): Tangerang mayoralty is currently burdened with an acute garbage problem due to a limited availability of garbage trucks to transport it to the dump site, an official said on Monday.

Tangerang Mayor Moch. Thamrin said out of about 4,000 cubic meters of garbage produced in the city every day, only 2,400 cubic meters could be removed.

Therefore, higher piles of garbage could be seen along areas of Jl. Ahmad Yani, Cikokol bus terminal and Ciledug, Malabar and Anyar markets, Thamrin told Antara.

He explained that the number of operating garbage trucks dropped drastically to only 23 due to a lack of funds as a result of a direct impact of the crisis.

"I have instructed the mayoralty's sanitary office to do its best to solve the garbage problem for the sake of maintaining the city's beauty," Thamrin said.

He also hailed the city residents' initiative to burn or bury garbage they generated to help solve the problem.

However, he deplored others who recklessly continued old habits of throwing garbage into gutters or rivers as these acts were feared to create flooding during the rainy season.(hhr)