“This will be a government-to-government loan that will be repaid by the government,” Ridwan said in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday.

He said that while the Citarum Harum program included efforts to address trash, sedimentation and flooding, the World Bank loan would be used specifically for addressing the trash problem.

“The point is that we want Citarum’s trash problem to be solved not by buying advanced equipment but by educating the public so that the trash can be reduced at home with simple but plentiful technology,” he said.

“If we just use technology, the public will still act in the same pattern and the problem will remain, and we don’t want that.”

Ridwan said he planned to use the loan to help change residents' lifestyles to provide a long-term solution to the trash problem.

“We are going to [add to the] budget small technologies and education in people's homes,” he said, adding that the loan could also be allocated to housing and environment agencies, as well as the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

“We will present the [plan to address the Citarum River trash problem] this week,” he said. (kmt)

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