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View all search resultsMinistry pushes to end open garbage dumping in landfills
Nearly 300 regional administrations have received administrative sanctions from the Environment Ministry for operating their landfills using an open dumping approach, leaving the garbage unprocessed.
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People collect waste on April 17 at the Suwung landfill in Denpasar, Bali. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
The Environment Ministry has asserted that most landfills operating the country are not following the adequate environmental standards, warning regional administrations to expedite work in improving the waste management in their regions.
“Almost no landfills in Indonesia are operating properly,” said Rizal Irawan, the ministry’s law enforcement deputy, during a briefing on Monday. “Most rely on open dumping and remain subject to administrative sanctions.”
In open dumping sites, waste is piled and disposed of in a not environmentally friendly manner, with exposed waste producing toxic leachate that can contaminate groundwater as well as methane gas that can spark fires.
Existing regulations have required garbage to be compacted using heavy machinery before being covered with a layer of soil in a carefully selected location for the sanitary landfill to prevent odors, windblown debris and groundwater contamination.
As part of law enforcement against the substandard landfills, the ministry has issued 314 administrative sanctions against regional administrations after finding them noncompliant to waste management policies.
Of the 314 sanctions, 259 local administrations have been told to stop open dumping practices in their landfills and to construct or improve supporting facilities to manage the methane and leachate coming from the waste.
