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Piles of household trash on roadsides irritate Kebayoran Lama residents
Piles of household trash swarming with flies on roadsides have irritated residents in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, for years due to the area's absence of dump sites
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Piles of household trash swarming with flies on roadsides have irritated residents in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, for years due to the area's absence of dump sites.
Boy, a 61-year-old resident, said he was disappointed with trash management in his community unit.
A pile of trash is always seen in front of his furniture shop located on Jl. Ciputat Raya.
He said people from his community unit always disposed of their trash on the roadside due to the absence of a local dump site.
"There is a dump site in another community unit. However, people are too lazy to take their trash there, as it is so far away."
"People from this community unit use the roadside as a temporary dump site. It has been going on for more than 10 years without intervention from the local authorities."
He said people from other places in South Jakarta also threw away bags of garbage on the roadside. They arrived on motorbikes with plastic bags full of rubbish.
Garbage trucks of the South Jakarta Sanitation Agency pick up the trash in the area three to four times a day. However, sometimes they only come once or twice a day, which results in the trash spreading to the road, disturbing passing vehicles.
"I have been living here for around 40 years. The number of residents living in this area has massively increased over the last 10 years," Boy said.
He said the city administration had made no effort to address demographic problems in the area, which greatly impacted on the amount of garbage produced.
"More people, more trash."
Waste management has been a problem in many parts of the city. At least 6,000 tons of garbage are transported to Bantar Gebang, a landfill in Bekasi. However, the city's garbage is still left in the streets and rivers.
In Kebayoran Lama, people throw their waste on several roadsides, including Jl. Ciputat Raya and Jl. Bungur. Trash piles are also seen in front of Bungur public cemetery and a space beneath Kebayoran Lama Overpass.
A local resident said an average of 10 people per hour throw garbage at Jl. Ciputat Raya's garbage point during the day and has become a source of livelihood for scavengers.
"Some parts of our subdistrict don't have any temporary dump sites due to the lack of vacant land," head of Kebayoran Lama subdistrict Agus Suryadi said Thursday.
He said the South Jakarta Sanitation Agency pick up the trash on the garbage points three times a day.
He added he had made efforts to preserve the environment, such as green projects in several parts of the subdistrict. He said people in a neighborhood unit had started composting organic trash and separating organic from non-organic wastes.
Kebayoran Lama subdistrict deputy head Budi Achmadi said the subdistrict had reported the problem to higher authorities.
"However, no action has been taken." (nia)
