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Citarum’s river of trash points to waste management fail
The floating garbage and trash on the bottom of the Citarum River in West Java, often dubbed as the most polluted river in the world, as well as other bodies of water across Indonesia, comes from the mishandling and mismanagement of waste, experts have highlighted.
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Heavy machinery dredges plastic garbage from the bottom of a section of Citarum River in Batujajar, West Bandung regency, West Java, on June 12, 2024. Authorities estimate that the floating garbage on the Citarum, often dubbed as the world's most polluted river, span around 3 kilometers and weighed around 100 tonnes. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
A recent viral video showing a stretch of floating trash in the Citarum River has once again got the public and authorities talking about the country's waste management problems.
The video was posted by environmental activist group Pandawara on June 11 on its Instagram account, and has gained more than 1 million likes so far. The group also went into the field to clear the river.
The West Java administration deployed a team of workers to remove the waste the following day. It was estimated that the garbage spanned around 3 kilometers and weighed some 100 tonnes.
The joint effort from Pandawara and the West Java administration resulted in a section of the Citarum in West Bandung becoming relatively free from trash. But it did not last long, as netizens began reporting that the river quickly became polluted with various kinds of waste again.
The situation has forced the provincial administration to expand its river cleanup operation another 500 meters to the west and east from the initial plan. The campaign was also extended from the initial one week to a month and a half, after authorities estimated that the floating garbage spanned around 3 kilometers and weighed around 100 tonnes.
