17 PPE Garbage Sacks Disposed Of On Agricultural Land, Secretary Of Bogor: The Source Must Be Seeked

Regional Secretary (Sekda) of Bogor Regency, Burhanudin (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Regional Secretary (Sekda) of Bogor Regency, Burhanudin, was furious after learning that 17 sacks of personal protective equipment (PPE) were dumped carelessly on agricultural land in the Tenjo area, Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday.

"It can be said that garbage is dangerous, so it must be followed up, where to find the source," he said when contacting the Head of Tenjo Sub-district, Kurnia Indra after a meeting on handling COVID-19 in Cibinong, Bogor, reported by Antara, Tuesday, February 2.

According to the Head of the Bogor Regency COVID-19 Handling Task Force, PPE waste is classified as hazardous and toxic waste (B3) which has been stipulated in Law number 32 of 2009 concerning environmental protection and management.

"There are rules, moreover, medical waste in hospitals is not just disposed of carelessly. In fact, hospital waste is classified as B3 waste," said Burhan.

Meanwhile, the Head of Tenjo Sub-district, Kurnia Indra, together with elements of the TNI-Polri, visited the location where dozens of medical waste sacks consisting of masks and hazmat were disposed of.

"Together with the police, the Koramil and Puskesmas immediately came to the location, taking samples of evidence to be followed up by the police," said Kurnia.

According to him, after documenting pictures of PPE waste piles and taking samples, he immediately destroyed them for fear of endangering the community.

"After being photographed for documentation and taking samples, they were immediately destroyed. People were afraid that they would come. The samples were taken by the police," he said.