After a series of protests by residents of Bukit Rivaria housing complex in Depok, West Java, the municipal administration said Friday that it would let the complex’s residents use the newly erected waste processing unit (UPS) exclusively.
“We have offered to let them [Rivaria residents] use the UPS exclusively, or at least share it with only the nearest community units,” Yusmanto, head of the Depok Sanitation and Environmental Agency facility division, told The Jakarta Post.
Yusmanto said he had met with resident representatives to discuss the official regulation needed to implement the policy.
“We have also asked them to help draft the ordinance [on the exclusive use of the UPS]. We will soon pass the draft to the administration for approval.
“If [the draft ordinance] is a good solution for all, why not?” he said.
Last Sunday, hundreds of Rivaria residents sealed off a UPS to protest the municipality’s lack of response to their calls to relocate it.
The Rivaria UPS is a 30- by 40-meter composting plant that also recycles inorganic waste. The unit is designed to process 40 cubic meters of waste per day, or equal to the waste of dozens of community units.
More than 700 families at the complex have protested against the construction of the UPS since December last year.
Most residents fear that if trash piles up, it will be detrimental to their health.
M. Fuad, head of the Rivaria residents community group (Iwari), said the residents would rally the administration should it fail to implement the offer.
“If the municipality cannot guarantee the offer, we will continue protesting,” Fuad told the Post.
Suratno Kurniawan from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said his organization welcomed the exclusive-use plan.
“Some UPS have been built too close to residences. The administration should never have insisted on using them for processing massive amounts of waste.”
Walhi has received complaints over UPS from residents in 13 different areas across the municipality.
Depok, which produces 3,400 cubic meters of waste daily, plans to build 60 UPS within four years.
Last year, the municipal administration built 20 UPS. It plans to build 10 more this year and another 30 within the next two years. The Depok UPS project is worth Rp 17 billion (US$ 1.5 million). (hwa)
