Get Ready To Dispose Of Garbage Carelessly In Mataram, NTB Will Be Sanctioned For Cleaning Garbage For A Week

Illustration of a worker cleaning trash. (Between)

NTB - Selaparang District Government, Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, has prepared moral sanctions for residents who throw garbage into rivers to provide a deterrent effect on perpetrators.

Selaparang Sub-district Head, Zulkarwin, said that the moral sanctions for residents who throw garbage into the river include asking them to clean up the garbage that is thrown away and in the vicinity for one week or more.

"We will prepare the sanctions in 'awig-awig' for the Dasan Agung Village, whose area is crossed by the Jangkuk River," he said in Mataram, NTB, quoted from Antara, Friday, August 5.

The statement was made by Zulkarwin after a mutual cooperation activity on the Kali Jangkuk border, Dasan Agung Village, which was a follow-up to the declaration of the "Lisan Panutan" program, which means an environment with zero waste through sustainable household waste sorting.

In addition to making "awig-awig", he continued, to maximize the handling of waste on the river border, a secretariat for river care groups will also be created as well as a guard post on land owned by residents in the Gapuk neighborhood, Dasan Agung.

"Residents who are at the guard post will take turns monitoring people who will throw garbage into the river. If they are found, they will be dealt with immediately," he said.

On the other hand, he continued, as a form of service for handling resident's waste so that it is not dumped into the river, people who are on river borders are asked to accommodate the sorted waste and then place or collect their respective waste in front of their houses.

Furthermore, the waste will be the task of the three-wheeled vehicle operator, who will periodically transport the waste to be taken to a temporary disposal site (TPS).

"At first we wanted to put garbage and collect it like a riverside TPS, but we are worried that not only our residents will throw it away, but also outsiders who pass there," he said.

It is hoped, added Zulkarwin, that through this movement of the Lisan Model program, the community in Selaparang District, especially those on the riverbanks, can participate in maintaining environmental cleanliness to avoid bigger impacts in the future.

Mataram City DPRD member Rino Rinaldi who was met on the sidelines of the gotong royong activity said this movement was one of the government's support to motivate people to be aware about cleanliness.

In this case, he said, the government cannot only provide understanding through ceremonial activities, but must be followed up with actions, including the presence of officers who will supervise residents who want to throw garbage in the river during vulnerable hours.

"It is the time for people to throw garbage into the river usually at dawn (still dark) and maghrib (towards dark). So this also needs to be a concern, so that perpetrators can be punished," he said.