TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Garbage strewn on streets of Pekanbaru
Change Size
Garbage strewn on the streets in Pekanbaru in Riau on Jan. 13 because the administration lacks resources to pick it up and residents often litter. (JP/Rizal Harahap)
P
ekanbaru residents complained that the administration failed to pick up household trash that was strewn on alleys and main streets, making the city in Riau province look dirty.
“Residents burn trash because the trucks do not pick it up, but then there is more garbage the next day. The environment has become unhealthy,” said Azis Ardian, one of the owners of a shop on Jl. HR Soebrantas, the main street.
Pekanbaru Sanitation and Environment Agency head Zulfikri admitted to the lack of budget and workforce to pick up the trash. He said another factor was that the residents were not disciplined enough to follow through with the trash pick up schedule, which is from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“The truck fleet has 123 trucks but only 64 in operation. The garbage volume reaches 1,100 metric tons per day,” he said on Friday. The budget for sanitation is Rp 34 billion (US$2,600) per year.
“There are 1,223 contract workers, which is not enough,” he said.
A Pekanbaru councilor, Fathullah, called for all parties to stop the blame game. “Pekanbaru administration has to pick up trash fast because it stinks and disturbs people, while people should stop piling up garbage on the streets. They should make a hole in their yard, burn or bury it, do not just blame the administration,” he said.
Burning garbage outside the regulated requirements is prohibited under the 2008 law on trash management. (evi)
