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Dutch technology used to solve perennial waste issues
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Heaps of trash are seen in the Ciliwung River under a bridge on Jl. Abdullah Syafei in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta as floods hit the city on April 26. (kompas.com/Ardito Ramadhan D)
T
he government has launched a technology-based pilot project to clean up rivers in Jakarta in a bid to reduce plastic waste in the ocean.
The system centers around a floating garbage collection machine stationed on the north side of the Cikarang River's drainage basin in Kapuk Muara, Penjaringan district in North Jakarta. The waste management program is based on a cooperation agreement between the central government and the Dutch government.
The machine, bought from the Netherlands for 300,000 euro (US$337,000), collects waste in a river and contains it in a bag that can be disposed of at a dump. It has a collection capacity of 30 tons of trash per day. The amount is relatively small compared to the more than 400 tons of daily waste that ends up in Jakarta Bay.
The government has assigned the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) to develop similar equipment for broader use.
“The BPPT will redesign and adjust the machine to the types of garbage here. It will have a big impact if we use it,” Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said at the launch of the pilot project on Monday.
He was accompanied at the event by Environment and Forestry Ministry Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Rob Swartbol, BPPT representatives and Jakarta administration officials.
Despite having the new technology, Luhut acknowledged that other means were still needed to tackle the capital's persistent waste problems.
