Waste at Sunter Disposal Site in North Jakarta Rarely Collected Due to Broken Trucks

A resident, Muhammad Kholil (57), reported that waste at the RW 09 Sunter Jaya disposal site in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, is rarely collected, causing it to overflow onto the road. “The collectors rarely come. The reason given is that there are no vehicles available; they keep claiming the trucks are broken,” Kholil said on Monday (18/5/2026).

According to Kholil, the piles of waste had previously covered up to half of the road before heavy machinery was used to push it back to prevent further overflow. He noted that complaints are made on a daily basis.

Aswal (35), a local trader near the disposal site, echoed these concerns, stating that irregular collection has caused the waste to pile up excessively. He highlighted that the situation was at its worst on Sunday (17/5/2026), when the waste encroached upon half of the road, covering the road markings.

Aswal expressed hope that the collection frequency would return to previous levels, noting that currently, a collection vehicle is not guaranteed to arrive even every three days. He warned that the overflowing waste has the potential to trigger traffic congestion.

Previously, it was reported that waste piles reached heights of three metres at the RW 09 Sunter Jaya disposal site. Observations on Monday (18/5/2026) showed the waste consisted of rotting food scraps, plastics, styrofoam, and dry leaves. A foul odour could be detected from approximately 15 metres away, and maggots were visible among the piles, while leachate has made parts of Jalan Sunter Kemayoran muddy and slippery.