TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
City, building owners to jointly tackle bin thefts
The city administration will work with building managements along Jl
Change Size
The city administration will work with building managements along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta to manage garbage bins, amid a slew of bin thefts.
Public garbage bins are becoming increasingly harder to find along parts of the city’s thoroughfares, including bus shelters, having reportedly been stolen.
Eko Bharuna, head of the city sanitation agency, admitted garbage bins were being stolen.
“It’s been a problem for a long time now,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
“If today, for instance, we place garbage bins along Jl. Sudirman, they might be gone in two or three months.”
Other area are worse, he added.
“Along smaller roads, bins get stolen a day or two after we install them,” he said.
“We can’t keep an eye on them because it’s beyond our capacity. We don’t have the manpower for that.”
The agency, he added, would encourage building managements to help procure and maintain garbage bins along the two main thoroughfares to tackle the problem.
“We’ll also work with Central Jakarta municipality to spread the information to the building managements,” he said.
“We hope the managements will be able to keep a watchful eye on the bins so they won’t get stolen.
“This way, they’ll also be responsible for taking care of the bins.”
The program is also part of the private companies’ contribution to keeping the city clean.
“We can’t do this by ourselves without the public’s participation. It’d be good if the building managements intend to provide garbage bins in and around their buildings as part of their CSR [corporate social responsibility] programs,” he said.
The sanitation agency is preparing newly designed bins expected to be sturdier than previous types.
A set of garbage bins consists of two cans, one each for organic and inorganic trash. There will also be an information board telling people the importance of properly disposing of garbage and of not littering.
Each pair of bins costs Rp 1.5 million (US$144).
Eko said the pilot project would be tested around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
“It’s a hectic area that many pedestrians pass through. We’ll put about five to six newly designed bins in that area,” he said.
“We hope that building managements in the area can copy the design of our bins and procure their own bins,” he added, calling on them to also place bins in their building areas, such as in parking lots.
If the program is deemed a success, Eko said, the agency might apply it in other busy areas, such as Cikini in Central Jakarta.
“There are many office buildings, cafés and restaurants where people might need more bins,” he added.
He also urged subdistrict offices to maintain bins in their areas.
“Every subdistrict has full responsibility for public facilities, including garbage bins, bus shelters and public telephones,” he said.
The administration has had to roll up its sleeves to deal with garbage problems, since many residents dispose of trash in public places, including rivers and streets.
Jakartans produce around 6,000 tons of waste daily.
