Communities learn how to treat household waste

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Education programs are being introduced across the city to help Jakarta go green and its residents become more environmentally aware.

"We (have started) by educating residents with the simplest task of sorting out their domestic waste," said Harry Poli Riyanto from Pondok Kelapa subdistrict.

For two years, Harry has run a local composting system and he said, "Most residents aren't educated or accustomed to manage waste in their home".

The 40-year-old father of two, along with a handful of his neighbors, other residents and members of the subdistrict board, said he would expand his program at the 20,000-square-meter city forest in Jl. Haji Dogon, Pondok Kelapa, Duren Sawit, East Jakarta.

The forest today sees composted about 40 percent of its leaf waste, 30 percent of market and domestic organic waste, as well as 30 percent of animal waste from chicken, goat, cow and horse meat products.

"Raising people's awareness to sort out their domestic organic waste is a tough job, I know," Harry said.

He also said most organic waste for the composting program came from the nearby market instead of residential homes.

It is estimated a community unit (RW) with some 500 families can produce an average of 500 kg in daily waste.

There are 13 RWs in the Pondok Kelapa subdistrict and Harry, who has been living there for nine years, said an estimated 95 percent of the total 130,000 people in the area were not yet aware of the importance of waste management.

Only 20 percent of the residents are willing to sort out their organic waste from their non-organic waste, he said, "However, even the 20 percent do not always do that".

"They still need to be constantly reminded."

No residents were currently involved in the three-week process of decomposing the mix of waste into fertilizer.

Harry said the program paid two to three sanitation workers to monitor the humidity of the mixed waste piled in the city forest.

The fertilizer is then packed into 2.5 kg sacks.

"The most important thing is we want to inspire others to make an effort in creating a cleaner and greener living environment," Harry said.

He was referring to the lines of lush medication plants fertilized with compost.

They deliberately put the plants at the front yard of the subdistrict office because he said residents often relaxed there.

The compost fertilizer is currently being sold for Rp 4,000 per 2.5 kg sack to residents.

"We use the income sales to pay two to three sanitation officers, who daily monitor the piles of the composted waste in the forest."

Harry said he hoped city administration would support them by allocating funds for the program.

"We need to keep informing the public about this kind of waste management.

"At the moment we are only able to recycle the organic waste.

"We hope that one day we will also be able to process non-organic waste," Harry said.

In 2001, a similar waste recycling program operated from a small waste dump at Jl. Haji Naman, just a stone's throw from the Pondok Kelapa city forest.

The composting program, which used machines, unfortunately only lasted for about a year.

Not many residents were even aware of its about its existence at the time.

Ari, 24, who has lived in Pondok Kelapa since childhood, said she had heard of some composting programs held in areas around Jakarta, but not one in her immediate area.

Jakarta has a major garbage problem, producing more than 6,000 tons of waste per day.

Although most of the city's waste goes to the 108-hectare sanitary landfill in Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, at least 118 hectares of land in Jakarta is still occupied by garbage.

The city has one recycling plant capable of processing around 500 tons of waste in Cakung Cilincing, North Jakarta.

Govt to build 3,000 houses for refugees

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

KUPANG (Jakarta Post) : The Social Services Ministry will build some 3,000 houses, at a cost of Rp 45 billion, for East Timorese refugees who have lived in makeshift camps since in 1999.

Head of Kupang Social Agency, Frans Salem, said Tuesday the administration planned to relocate all refugees to proper residences in 2008, and would encourage them to be independent and lead normal lives.

"We also plan to help develop productive sources of income (for the refugees)," he said, adding the administration had distributed funds amounting to Rp 4 million per household to develop home enterprises.

According to Frans, there were 9,672 East Timorese households still living in poverty. About 6,000 of them have been relocated, while the rest still live in camps in Kupang and Belu regencies. --JP

City promotes water-harvest installations

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an effort to avert floods, Jakarta's Environment Management Board has asked university students and companies to help residents make percolation pits and biopore absorption holes to harvest rainwater.

The board's head of environmental damage control Daniel Abbas told The Jakarta Post over the weekend this household intervention could help compensate for water catchment areas being lost to new homes, offices and apartments.

The environmental board hopes 4,000 people -- students and more than 24 companies -- will join the program, which will be launched by Governor Fauzi Bowo at the Sumantri Bojonegoro Stadium, South Jakarta on Dec. 8.

"We are asking the universities to let students assist in the installation of household percolation pits or biopore holes, while companies can use their CSR budgets to help with the financing," said Daniel.

There are at least 12 different types of percolation pits for draining rainwater. The cheapest and simplest is a 100-centimeter deep, 10-centimeter wide hole filled with compost. As worms, insects and fungi work together to decompose the waste, they create pore spaces, allowing rainwater to seep more quickly into the aquifer.

Daniel said residents could choose between percolation pits and biopore absorption holes depending on their budget and the height of the local water table.

"A percolation pit with a capacity of one cubic meter costs around Rp 1 million while creating a biopore hole requires only a drilling tool."

A biopore absorption hole can be as simple as a hole with a diameter of 10 centimeters and depth of 30 centimeters filled with organic waste.

As percolation pits are deeper than biopores they are suitable only in areas not located below sea level.

"Residents in North Jakarta will not be able to build percolation pits because the water level in the area comes within a half meter of the surface," said Daniel.

He suggested that universities make the program a part of the community service curriculum, which is mandatory in most schools.

"Students can transfer knowledge (of the conservation technique to the general public) while getting credit for the program," he said, adding that several universities including University of Indonesia and Trisakti University had confirmed their involvement.

The water-harvesting effort could be fast-tracked, said Daniel, if university students and companies got behind the 10-year program that covers five municipalities.

Water-harvesting is mandated under a 2002 ordinance requiring all building owners, regardless of building size, to set up percolation pits or biopore holes.

However, the environmental board said, so far, there are only about 100,000 pits, while the target is some 2 million pits. (lln)

Tangerang produces safe drinking water

The Jakarta Post

TANGERANG: The Tirta Benteng water company, owned by the Tangerang municipality, released its first batch of drinking water Tuesday, which will reach up to 100 consumers in the Arcadia housing area in Batu Ceper.

"We will develop this system until all Tangerang residents can receive drinking water," Tirta Benteng director Ahmad Mardju Qodri told Antara.

The next batch of drinking water, he said, would reach more than 2,000 consumers.

The project is being carried out in conjunction with the state's Water Provision System Implementing Body (BP-SPAM). The body also intends to develop similar programs in Malang in East Java, Medan in North Sumatra and Bandung and Bogor in West Java.

Tirta Benteng spokesperson Indra Setyawan said the production of drinking water would cost the company Rp 87.6 million, with the state to pay for ongoing staff training.

The tariff per household for drinkable water would be the same as regular piped water, he said.