Yogyakarta City Government Holds Patrol in Code River Area, Illegal Waste Disposal Will Be Taken Action

YOGYAKARTA - In order to maintain the cleanliness of the Code River, the Yogyakarta City Government has held a special patrol. Motorized boats will be patrolled to monitor the cleanliness of the river which is often polluted due to garbage.

The Mayor of Yogyakarta Hasto Wardoyo in Yogyakarta, Sunday, said the boat would be used to monitor the condition of the river from upstream to downstream periodically.

This step was taken as part of the local government's efforts to reconstruct society and change people's behavior so that they no longer use rivers as a place to dump garbage.

"I will buy a boat with a 7 PK outboard engine for patrolling the Code River. Later, we will control the points where there are still indiscriminate waste disposal," said Hasto, quoting ANTARA, June 7.

He explained that the focus of patrol on the Code River was carried out because of its strategic location and adjacent to the Yogyakarta Philosophy Axis. In the future, the city government targets that the cleanliness of the river can reach the standards of tourist areas, although the challenges are different from other areas considering the characteristics of the fast-flowing river.

Apart from patrols, the Yogyakarta City Government continues to encourage waste management programs at the household level. Hasto appreciated the success of residents in processing around 300 tons of waste per day, which is claimed to have overcome the problem of waste accumulation in city depots.

In an effort to support environmental sustainability, Hasto also initiated the use of plastic waste and bottle caps as building materials. The inorganic waste is processed into "eco-bricks" which are then printed into tiles and walls to support the construction of uninhabitable homes.

"The house we are operating on has a roof and walls that partly come from the results of waste processing. We want to give optimism that waste can be a blessing," explained Hasto.

He also invited all elements of society, including universities, to conduct research related to social reconstruction. Hasto hopes that changing the mindset of the community in which sorting garbage and maintaining river cleanliness becomes a culture can continue to be strengthened.

"We want people to think that throwing garbage into the river is taboo. This is part of our effort to reconstruct people's behavior to be more environmentally friendly," he said.