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Effective solid waste management on a budget
Processing methane gas into carbon dioxide is significant in slowing down the greenhouse effect by turning the poisonous gas into a lesser evil for the ozone layer.
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Never ending: A scavenger collects used plastic bottles for recycling at Cipeucang landfill site in Serpong, South Tangerang, Banten, on Feb. 28, 2020. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
O
n Feb. 21, 2005, the Leuwigajah landfill (TPS) in Bandung, West Java, experienced a devastating methane gas explosion and subsequent landslide that left resident and emergency responders traumatized.
The incident led to the closure of the landfill, and its functions were moved to the Sarimukti landfill, which is now set to close soon. The tragedy serves as a painful reminder that we must take better care of our solid waste facilities.
Many open dumping sites are found not only in Indonesia, raising concerns about solid waste management. In a recent report by CNN, the Brahmapuram landfill in India was found to have burned, causing harm to the residents and firefighters who fainted from the methane gas produced by the incident.
The Lewuigajah incident’s lesson is that we must be more proactive about trash management, something that the people in Tegal, a city in Central Java, started doing when they asked the local environment agency to shut down the Penujah final processing site (TPA) due to overflowing untreated waste. A similar request was made to the government of Lumintang landfill in Denpasar, Bali, a temporary disposal site prone to landslides and difficult for garbage trucks to navigate during the rainy season.
Opening a dumpsite or rehabilitating an existing one is not an easy task. Regulation of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia No. 26/PMK.07/2021, concerning funding support for state revenue and expenditure budget for waste management in the regions, allocates Rp500,000 (about US$32) for waste processing in municipalities. The amount is for recycling, reducing, sorting and treating trash of up to 1 tonne.
To mitigate the lack of funds, at least three landfill models are being considered: anaerobic, semi-aerobic and aerobic landfills. Judging from Indonesia’s topography and cultural similarities, it is possible to utilize the semi-aerobic landfill mechanism used in the Ampang Jajar landfill in Malaysia and the Nam Son landfill in Hanoi city.
Known as the Fukuoka method, the model installs perforated collection pipes and similarly styled vertical gas vent pipes at the bottom of the landfill, allowing the quick removal of leachates. By keeping the aerobic environment at the end of the collection pipes and combining it with the heat from the fermenting waste, good airflow is naturally maintained without the need for additional technologies.
