Bantargebang Contract Expires Soon Without Any Other Alternatives, Anies Is Not Considered To Be Serious About Waste Management

ILLUSTRATION/DOCK BETWEEN

JAKARTA - The contract for the management of the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST) between the DKI Provincial Government and the Bekasi City Government will expire in October 2021. DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is considered to have other alternatives besides extending the Bantargebang contract.

Member of the PSI faction of the DKI DPRD, August Hamonangan, assessed that Anies had no serious intentions in waste management efforts. He mentioned that the Sunter Intermediate Treatment Facility (ITF) waste processing project, which is said to be able to reduce waste disposal to Bantargebang, is still stalled.

The Sunter ITF is targeted to start construction in January 2020. However, Anies is currently only planning to request a regional loan for the Sunter ITF in January 2022.

“Why did it only start to move in the remaining 9-10 months before Anies' governorship ends? Why is the waste issue never a priority, losing to Formula E which immediately sucks up trillions of rupiah," August told reporters, Thursday, September 23.

DKI does have other efforts, namely the intermediate waste processing facility (FPSA) in Tebet. However, now this development is reaping the pros and cons.

From the start, Tebet residents have asked Governor Anies to reconsider the construction of the FPSA because it is close to settlements, Tebet Park, and the Acacia Child Friendly Integrated Space (RPTRA).

The FPSA is allegedly emitting an unpleasant odor and has the potential to cause respiratory problems for local residents because of its location close to residents' homes.

“The DKI Provincial Government needs to seriously evaluate Jakarta's waste management policies and find solutions for the construction of the 4 ITFs which are currently still stagnant. This is a much more important issue than spending the budget to build giant monuments,” he said.

It is known that the DKI Provincial Government and Bekasi City Government are discussing a plan to extend the waste management contract with the DKI Provincial Government. However, Bekasi has asked for an increase in compensation funds or a tipping fee from the DKI Provincial Government. Bekasi wants the compensation fund to increase by 100 percent from the previous year's agreement.

"In our calculations, yesterday it was calculated at almost Rp. 385 billion. Maybe in the future it could increase by 100 percent, maybe to Rp. 800 billion. However, the exact figure has not been determined," Yayan said when contacted, Tuesday, September 21.

The nominal increase in compensation funds, said Yayan, is calculated from the planned increase in odor compensation to about 18 thousand residents who live in 3 urban villages in the Bantargebang TPST environment.