Old trucks contribute to W. Jakarta waste buildup

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Some 250 cubic meters of garbage in West Jakarta is not being transported to temporary dump sites each day because of the poor condition of the municipality's garbage trucks.

As many as 82 of the municipality's 164 garbage trucks are more than 15 years old, Amir Sagala, an executive officer with the West Jakarta Sanitation Subagency, said Monday.

"We are not supposed to use trucks which are more than 10 years old," he said.

Trucks in proper working order are generally able to carry between six and 16 cubic meters of garbage, depending on their size.

Households and factories in West Jakarta produce approximately 5,500 cubic meters of trash each day.

Amir said some of the 250 cubic meters of garbage left lying around each day would be turned into compost or be naturally destroyed.

"However, some of it is thrown into rivers," he said.

He said his office had just finished constructing five temporary garbage disposal centers in the Kembangan, Palmerah, Cengkareng, Kebon Jeruk and Kalideres districts.

He said each dump site was equipped with sophisticated and environmentally friendly machines.

However, Amir said his office was still not sure when the dump sites could be used.

"We are now giving training to our officials on how to operate the machines," he said.

Amir said the five new centers would accelerate the garbage transportation process to the final dump site in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi.

The municipality currently operates about 30 temporary dump sites.

To handle garbage in the area, the subagency has 724 employees, including drivers and street sweepers.

Several neighborhood units in busy areas such as Kota and Kembangan also employ people to transport garbage using carts.

Zakar, a Kembangan resident, said five workers transported trash in his neighborhood using carts every two days. He said he paid the workers Rp 20,000 (US$2.1) each month to collect rubbish from his fruit stall.

"But other residents who do not own businesses pay Rp 10,000 monthly," he said.

He said he did not mind paying the workers as they worked hard transporting trash.

"They offer a good service. There are piles of trash in my neighborhood."

Zakar said he and his neighbors often also burnt their trash.

"The trash just turns solid or blows away," he said. (ewd)