E

nvironmentalists have warned that Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil could be sued if he approves the development of a waste-based power plant (PLTSa) in Gedebage, Bandung, West Java.

A professor of environment at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, Asep Warlan Yusuf, said Law No. 18/2008 on waste management only stipulated that the final step of the process be carried out using environmentally friendly technology.

'€œIt does not specify the technology, but it says it must be eco-friendly. Whatever it is, it must be eco-friendly,'€ Asep said in Bandung on Monday.

The Bandung city administration currently holds three local bylaws on waste management. City Bylaw No. 9/2011 on waste management omits mention of PLTSa.

The same is evident in Bandung Municipal Bylaw No. 14/2010 on environmentally friendly waste management service through cooperation with local administration and enterprises.

Meanwhile, City Bylaw No. 18/2011 on Bandung City Spatial Planning from 2011 to 2013 stipulates that Bandung must develop an energy network system and a power infrastructure sourced from waste-based energy in Gedebage.

'€œIf we scrutinize the [first two] bylaws, waste-management should emphasize the principles of '€˜reduce, reuse and recycle'€™. Garbage taken to the landfill should be [in] as small [amounts] as possible,'€ said Asep.

Regarding the clause on technology, Asep said the community could demand that the mayor consider the environmental impacts that would arise should the PLTSa be installed.

He said opposition from environmentalists and Gedebage area residents had made social and environmental issues a part of the discussion.

'€œBut there is also the issue regarding the garbage-processing fee, or tipping fee. If this is not settled, the PLTSa will be subject to a lawsuit,'€ added Asep.

On July, 23, 2013, the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) announced that the tender for the waste-management technology had been won by PT Bandung Raya Indah Lestari, and that the company would partner with a Chinese company, Hangzhou Boiler Co. Ltd.

The announcement was made during the tenure of former Bandung mayor Dada Rosada, who is currently serving a prison sentence at the Sukamiskin penitentiary for bribing a judge in a social-assistance funds embezzlement case in Bandung.

Ridwan said his administration would invite the Chinese company to introduce the waste-management technology.

'€œWe will ask the company to make a presentation and invite every party,'€ said Ridwan, adding that he expected the meeting would satisfy all of those in attendance.

Bandung produces between 1,000 and 1,500 tons of garbage daily. Currently, some 1,200 tons of garbage are sent to the Sarimukti landfill each day.

Global Alliance on Incinerator Alternatives member Yuyun Ismawati said the garbage in Bandung was dominated by wet waste. She said a solution to handling wet waste was to process it at the source.

Based on a study regarding community-based waste management in seven cities in Indonesia, Yuyun said waste-sorting and composting could reduce waste production by up to 50 percent.