T

he Depok city administration is running out of options to replace its over-burdened Cipayung dump in Pancoranmas as alternative plans have been met with resistance from area residents.

The head of the waste management unit at the Sanitation and Park Agency, Dheni Wahyu, said Monday that only one landfill in the dump could still be used as the other was already full of trash.

“However, trash in the available landfill has stacked up and in a short time, it will reach the same height as the first landfill,” he told reporters as he visited the dump.

Each landfill covers 2.4 hectares and is 15 meters deep. Trash in the first landfill has already been stacked to a height of 10 meters above ground level. Yet, while only 5.2 hectares of the total 10.2-
hectare dump have been utilized, a third landfill that was opened last year was forced to close on the demands of residents in the vicinity.

Dheni said that the administration only had until the middle of next year to replace the Cipayung dump, which has been in operation since 1984.

He said that his office had checked out several other locations in Depok, but faced objections from residents concerned about water and air pollution.

The neighboring Bogor administration, Dheni said, had offered a new place in Nambo, Bogor regency, but it could not be used before 2015.

“By that time, Depok would be buried in trash,” he said.

The Cipayung dump takes in an average of 1,200 cubic meters or 400 tons of waste per day, while Depok, with population of 1.8 million, produces 4,500 cubic meters or 1,500 tons of waste per day.

“We have talked with the Jakarta administration about the possibility of dumping trash in the Bantar Gebang dump in Bekasi, but there was still no follow-up on the issue,” Dheni said.

However, he said, the plan to transfer trash to the capital city’s largest dump would be costly.

The Depok administration had also invited experts on waste management from Germany, Japan and Denmark, but no further talks on cooperation had been held yet, he added.

Amanullah Sarwi, the head of monitoring at the Depok Environment Management Agency, said that water quality around the Cipayung dump was deteriorating.

“Unprocessed liquid waste from the dump, which was only contained in the landfill, has seeped in the soil and polluted the residents’ wells.

“We have sent warnings to the dump’s operator to build a liquid waste processing installation to curb soil and water pollution. We have to warn them again to make sure that they protect the environment,” said Amanullah.