Trash disposal remains big headache for Jakarta administration
Trash disposal remains big headache for Jakarta administration
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The capital's waste disposal problem remains unresolved, with
city officials yet to reach an agreement with the Bekasi
administration on the garbage dumping site in Bantargebang.
As the dispute staggers on, health problems are emerging among
those who reside near the dumping site and environmental damage
continues.
"We are still discussing the issue with the Bekasi
administration. It's in progress," deputy governor for
development affairs Budihardjo Sukmadi told reporters after
Friday prayers at the City Hall.
However, Budihardjo failed to give an exact time frame setting
out when and how the Bantargebang problem would be resolved.
The Bakasi administration has urged the Jakarta administration
to close the Bantargebang dumping site at the end of this year,
even though the working agreement expires in 2003 with a possible
extension to 2006.
According to Bekasi mayor Nonon Sonthanie, the city
administration's failure to manage the trash with sanitary
landfill, as agreed, has caused widespread environmental damage
and health problems in the area.
25,000 cubic meters or 5,000 tons of the trash produced daily
by the city are transported to Bantargebang and simply piled out
in the open, while the rest remains untransported.
"A lot of residents have been infected with skin diseases and
experience difficulties in breathing.. we may end the working
agreement before it is due," Nonon said as quoted by
beritajakarta.com.
Asked about the city administration's plan to move the garbage
site to Ciangir in Tangerang should the Bantargebang dump be
closed, Budihardjo said that it would not be put into effect in
the near future.
"We're still talking about that as well.. the location in
Ciangir is quite distant and the project could be costly," he
remarked.
Tangerang regency council has rejected Jakarta's plan to open
a 100 hectare dump in Ciangir, fearing the same problems that are
currently afflicting Bekasi mayoralty.
The city's sanitary agency spends more than Rp 90 billion per
year to manage the city's garbage.