Minister checks waste system at malls

JAKARTA (Jakarta Post) : State Minister for the Environment Rachmat Witoelar found inadequate solid waste management facilities Friday at up-scale shopping center Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta.

"I have asked Grand Indonesia management to provide proper facilities for solid waste management," he said after inspecting waste management facilities and percolation pits in the compound.

"The management promises to decide within one month which solid waste management facility will be suitable for them, and procure equipment within three months," he said.

The management, however, already had proper facilities for liquid waste management, Rachmat said, adding that it also had percolation pits in compliance with a 2005 regulation.

"It is good to see Grand Indonesia already has 17 percolation pits that function properly during heavy rains," he said.

Grand Indonesia drainage system consultant Nyoman Darmawati said the mall had well-designed percolation pits that could hold up to 40 cubic meters of water each.

"We also have a 3.2-kilometer drainage system that can retain up to 1 million cubic meters of water before releasing it slowly into Cideng River," she said.

"That's why this mall is flood-free."