BANDUNG - The Bandung City Government has confirmed that it will not use a small-capacity incinerator in waste management as part of efforts to strengthen safe and sustainable environmental governance.
The Mayor of Bandung Muhammad Farhan said the policy was a follow-up to the Minister of Environment's instructions regarding the evaluation of waste processing methods in the City of Bandung.
"The next step, we will follow what the minister directs, namely stopping the incinerator which is considered to cause excessive air pollution," said Farhan in a statement received in Bandung, Antara, Monday, January 19.
Farhan said the Bandung City Government would coordinate directly with the Ministry of Environment (KLH) to ensure the technical basis and measurement results that would become the reference for the policy.
"We will meet with the Minister to ensure the results of the measurements from the inspection of the Deputy Gakkum of the Ministry of Environment. We will use data from the ministry as a benchmark, and the data we have will be improved together," he said.
He emphasized that every waste management policy in the City of Bandung would be formulated based on official data and within the corridor of laws and regulations.
Previously, Minister of Environment and Forestry Hanif Faisol Nurofiq asked the Bandung City Government not to use incinerators, especially those on a small scale, because they were considered potentially dangerous for the environment and public health.
"Ordinary masks will not be able to, even N95 masks are limited. The substance is persistent, has a residence time of up to 20 years since it is burned, and has a direct impact on cancer and lungs. This cannot be handled with anything," said Hanif.
He explained that burning garbage using an incinerator produces air emissions that are difficult to control, unlike solid waste which can still be managed even though it produces sewage.
"If the garbage is piled up, we can still manage it, even though there is flood water. But if it becomes air, we can only pray that God will prolong our lives," he said.
Therefore, Hanif encouraged local governments to switch to more environmentally friendly waste processing methods, one of which is by processing waste into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF).
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