Waste prices fall affects income of scavengers

Waste prices fall affects income of scavengers

JAKARTA (JP): Greater Jakarta's thousands of scavengers and
garbage collection center owners are losing their incomes because
of a sharp drop in waste prices.

Over the past few months waste has been piling up at garbage
collection centers because owners are refusing to take
scavengers' garbage to processing plants.

Garbage center owners who gathered at the Indonesian Forum for
Environment (Walhi) office said Thursday they had 200 to 1,000
tons of garbage piled up at their centers.

Salam H.S., an urban campaigner at the forum said waste paper
prices had dropped from Rp 400 (18 U.S. cents) to Rp 100 per
kilogram.

Cardboard prices have dropped from Rp 500 to Rp 75 per
kilogram and plastic prices have dropped from Rp 500 to Rp 50.

"Scavengers are letting waste pile up as they think it is not
worth taking anymore," Salam said.

"We fear imported waste is the cause of the price falls,"
Salam said.

Importing waste was banned last year.

Salam estimated there were 150,000 scavengers in Jakarta who
each collect 10 kilos a day for a total of 1,500 tons.

Their work saves the city Rp 25.5 million a day, he said.

Idle scavengers would also add litter to the streets, he said.

"Imagine the pile of waste on our streets after several days
if scavengers feel the work is not worthwhile," he said.

Prawoto S. Danoemihardjo, the assistant to the city secretary
in charge of development affairs, said the administration
allocated only Rp 60 billion a year for sanitary funds.

Jakartans produce 26,750 cubic meters of trash daily, 10.18
percent of that is paper and 7.8 percent plastic.

The city sanitary agency transports only 80 percent of the
trash.

Walhi asked the administration to be aware of imported waste
which was often developed countries' poisonous and dangerous
waste.

Walhi has a recycling program with 350 garbage collectors
grouped in the Peduli Foundation. Each collector employs 30
scavengers.

Besides helping the administration collect trash, scavenging
is an alternative job for new migrants, he said.

"Scavengers' role in helping to clean the environment is often
not recognized by the government," Salam said.

For instance, they are often land appropriation victims, which
also makes it difficult for them to resume work. (jun/anr)