A

foul smell from rotten, burning waste is among the unpleasant features of a vacant plot of land in community unit (RW) 10 in the Ciracas subdistrict of East
Jakarta.

The densely populated area, located near Jl. Raya Centex, is home to small alleys that cannot accommodate cars.

M. Abas, the secretary of neighborhood unit (RT) 1, said that in the past 15 years, residents from RT 1, 2 and 3 had used the vacant lot as a waste dump.

'€œThe two nearest official dumps are more than 2 kilometers away. We couldn'€™t afford to pay for a waste service to go to such a long distance. Our RW does not have any small motorcycle-dump trucks,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.

Saripun, another resident, said the waste problem in the area was an old issue, but no leader had stepped in to tackle it.

He said it was also hard for the residents to break the habit of dumping waste in the unused field as it was close to their houses.

'€œThe victims are people who live around the field. The smell of waste is awful in the morning when we open the doors,'€ he said.

Abas said that when some journalists covered the preparation of the legislative election in the area, he used the opportunity to bring the waste issue to the public.

Shortly after news about the open landfill in the neighborhood broke, officials from Ciracas subdistrict and district offices as well as the city'€™s sanitation agency visited the area. This week, they deployed dozens of people to carry the waste to a nearby dump site in Kelapa Dua Wetan subdistrict.

'€œThis morning, we saw the second instance of community work, but I wonder whether the officials will still find a future solution for us. I really hope there will be coordination between the subdistrict and the city'€™s sanitation agency,'€ Abas said.

He said the residents were still discussing the plan to set up a waste fee amounting to Rp 15,000 (US$1.30) per month per family, directly paid to an individual with a motorcycle waste container facility.

'€œI wonder if residents will agree to pay such a fee,'€ he said.

Nami Haryani, a resident, said every month, families in her neighborhood chipped in Rp 10,000, which would be used for various purposes, including the waste fee. She said some widows and unemployed people were free of the obligation.

'€œThe three RTs that use the field to dump their garbage pay Rp 300,000 each to hire a man whose job is to burn the waste,'€ she said.

Burning garbage is forbidden according to Article 126 of Bylaw No. 3/2013 on waste management.

Sanitation agency deputy head Isnawa Adji said the city was looking at buying the vacant lot in RW 10 in Ciracas to be used as an official green temporary dump that would be equipped with composting and 3R (reduce, reuse and recycle) facilities.

The illegal dump in the community unit in Ciracas, he said, was not the only large, illegal dump in the capital.

'€œOthers are located in Kramat Jati and West Cengkareng [in West Jakarta]. They are not many because it is difficult to find open space in Jakarta,'€ he told the Post over the phone.

Isnawa said dozens of much smaller illegal dump sites still were dotted around the capital. He said he still found many residents who refused to pay waste fees and preferred to dump their garbage in certain locations, such as on Jl. Koja in North Jakarta, along Jl. Otto Iskandardinata in East Jakarta and on Jl. Kalibaru Barat in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

'€œThese people quietly dump their garbage in traditional markets, on the rivers and on the street. Neighborhood heads should be responsible and scold the litterbugs, but they may be too indifferent to do so,'€ he said.

The agency, he said, would try to promote waste management at the subdistrict level where the residents could reduce the volume of garbage by selling non-organic waste and developing composting for organic waste.

'€œThe city has allocated around Rp 30 million to Rp 50 million for every subdistrict to develop this community-based waste management. Leaders in the subdistricts can invite organizations and our agency to give workshops to residents,'€ he said.

According to data from the agency, there were 193 existing dumping grounds from which sanitation workers would transport waste to landfill sites. Meanwhile, every RW should ideally have at least one dumping ground. The city has over 2,000 RWs.

The daily waste transported to Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, reached 5.55 percent in 2012, down from 10.92 percent the previous year. The daily amount of waste in 2012 was 6,356 tons, rising from 5,597 tons in 2011.