Waste begins to pile up before Bantar Gebang closure date
Waste begins to pile up before Bantar Gebang closure date
P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Five days prior to the end of the contract to use Bantar Gebang
dump in Bekasi municipality, garbage has started to pile up at
temporary sites across the capital.
"The garbage has not been taken for about three or four days,"
said Surati, a street vendor along the street near the temporary
dump site in Palmerah Market, Central Jakarta.
The vendors said that they were still being required to pay Rp
1,000 (12 U.S. cents) for the sanitation cost each day. However,
the garbage has not been picked up by the garbage trucks.
Some garbage truck drivers told The Jakarta Post on Friday
that they had no idea where to take the garbage when Bantar
Gebang closes its doors on Dec. 31, and others said their trucks
had broken down.
"I heard from other drivers that we might send the garbage to
a dump site somewhere in Jonggol, in Bogor regency. But I also
heard that the people there have opposed the plan," said Lempai,
a driver working for PT Daud Yonathan Bersaudara.
Other drivers, operating at the chicken market in Kebayoran
Baru, South Jakarta, and at Bata Putih market in Central Jakarta,
were similarly confused. They said they were helpless until they
got further instructions from their superiors.
"I only know that we still have to take the garbage to Bantar
Gebang until the end of December," said Suyono, 51, who has
worked with the City Sanitation Agency for seven years.
Residents are already facing a waste crisis after Bekasi
municipality administration refused to extend its contract with
Jakarta administration on the use of Bantar Gebang, pointing out
that the dump site has damaged the environment and endangered the
people's health.
Jakarta administration has named three alternative dump sites
one in Duri Kosambi in West Jakarta, another at Jl. Cakung
Cilincing in North Jakarta and in Jonggol district, Bogor
regency, but only Jonggol is currently ready to operate.
Bogor regency administration approved the dump at a 20-hectare
plot of land in Jonggol. However, the dump will only be able to
accommodate 1,500 of the 6,000 tons of Jakarta's daily waste.
The dump site is located near the upmarket Citra Indah housing
estate in Bojong subdistrict, Jonggol. Hundreds of local
residents have strongly opposed the dump, apparently over fears
of health and environmental problems like Bantar Gebang has
experienced.
The strong opposition has resulted in several clashes with the
authorities, including the latest incident on Monday in which
three people were injured when they tried to stop trucks from
entering the dump.
An employee of the waste management division at the sanitation
agency's office in South Jakarta, Ridwan, said, "I haven't heard
about a contingency plan. Anyway, I can't do anything until I get
instructions from my superiors."
Head of Waste Management for the sanitation agency in Bogor,
Rifki Tandjung, confirmed the approval of the Jonggol site.
"We already have the permits," said Rifki, adding that they
would use German processing machines that would minimize
environmental damage.
The three machines are owned by PT Wira Gulfindo Sarana, which
has been appointed by Jakarta to manage the waste.