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ireworks were lit, trumpets were blown and revelers thronged to the streets to welcome the New Year, leaving piles of trash throughout Jakarta in the early hours of Jan. 1.

Officials, however, were swift to clean up the mess.

The Jakarta Environment Agency has found that the one-night celebration on Sunday left behind 780 tons of trash across the city, an increase from 700 tons in the previous year.

As partygoers returned to their homes, 5,000 personnel in orange tasked with keeping the city clean began at 2 a.m. on the first day of 2018 to collect trash.

“We had assigned all of echelon 4, echelon 3 and even the agency’s deputy head to go to the field to clean the trash. We saw there were some busy spots and, when the events ended, we made our move,” Jakarta Environment Agency head Isnawa Adji said on Monday, adding that, by 6 a.m., the city was clear of all trash.

The celebrations were concentrated in several spots, such as the National Monument (Monas) and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin in South and Central Jakarta, respectively, and the Impian Jaya Ancol amusement park in North Jakarta.

Prior to the celebrations, the agency set up 10,000 trash bags in and around the busy locations and required vendors to collect the trash.

“Apparently, most of the trash had been neatly collected, so we just had to pick it up. To clean the streets, we deployed 30 street sweeper trucks,” Isnawa said.

On Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin, where a mass wedding and food bazaar presenting traditional foods from 34 provinces took place, officers and masters of ceremony repeatedly asked visitors to clean up litter by using the provided trash cans. However, in some areas filled with trash, such as on pedestrian bridges, trash cans were not available.

At Monas, where a musical performance by dangdut star Rhoma Irama was held, visitors reportedly trampled on the grass and broke a fence, forcing authorities to temporarily close down the landmark on Monday morning.

“We opened Monas at 9 a.m. as opposed to the normal 8 a.m. There were visitors who walked on the grass even though we had put up signs indicating that such an action was prohibited. But it could have been because of the high number of visitors, which was over 1 million,” said Monas public service department head Endrati Fariani.

New Year’s Eve crowds in Ancol also reportedly produced tons of trash.

Ancol head of public relations Rika Lestari said the number of visitors to the area on New Year’s Eve amounted to almost 220,000, with most attending to have a picnic or watch fireworks and live music along Carnaval Beach.

Mieke Yulianti, a visitor from Marunda, North Jakarta, said her children enjoyed an afternoon of swimming along the beach.

“There were no dangerous waves around here, and the lifeguards made us feel even safer,” she said, adding that visiting Ancol during New Year’s Eve was her family’s annual tradition.

However, some visitors, such as Nisa from Priok, North Jakarta, complained about Ancol’s public toilets.

“I had to stand in line for 30 minutes for a toilet,” said Nisa.

Ancol director C. Paul Tehusijarana acknowledged the problem, saying his team would evaluate the complaints.

“Maybe the number of toilets was low compared to the [number of] visitors, or maybe the toilet areas were unevenly distributed. We are sorry for the inconvenience, although we had prepared for the best service for tonight [Sunday],” he said at a New Year’s Eve press conference at Segarra Resto, Carnaval Beach, Ancol.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno said he expected Ancol to cater to more small-scale vendors moving forward.

“I hope Ancol can pattern itself after Disneyland, Legoland and other world-class amusement parks in creating memorable souvenirs,” he said during New Year’s Eve in Ancol. (gis)