Garbage piles in Puncak
raise concerns
Environmental experts and activists have drawn attention to domestic garbage mounting up in the water resource area of Puncak, West Java.
Puncak Conservation Consortium chairman Ernan Rustiadi said recently that environmental damage to the Puncak area was severe because of residents and tourists littering.
Ernan, also the agriculture faculty dean at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said that based on the 3-month research of the consortium members, manned by researchers, NGOs, activists and local administration officials, the garbage was not only scattered throughout tea plantations and villages, but also in water springs.
“It’s not only residents, but business entities like hotels and restaurants as well as tourists who often litter,” he said.
Ernan said they wanted all people to realize that it was the responsibility of all parties to keep Puncak as a sustainable area.
“You cannot presume that when the garbage is away from you, the problem is solved,” he said.
He added that garbage littered on streets and rivers would harm local residents and affect downstream areas, including Jakarta.
Forest Watch Indonesia member Dwi Lesmana said he wanted the Bogor Sanitation Agency to give “shock therapy” to residents, especially those who lived in the Tugu Utara and Tugu Selatan villages in Cisarua district, by not picking up their garbage for one month or one year.
“With this method, we hope they will start thinking how to handle their garbage on their own, so the environment is kept clean,” he explained.
Dwi said he found that garbage did not only pile up on sidewalks but also in residential areas away from the main streets, the springs of the Ciliwung River and tea plantations.
Responding, a Bogor Sanitation Agency official for the Ciawi area, Anta, said the agency was overwhelmed with the amount of garbage.
“With only 19 personnel and 19 dump trucks, we have to pick up 72 cubic meters per day from not only Megamendung and Puncak districts but also five others — Cisarua, Ciawi, Caringin, Cijeruk and Cogombong,” he said.
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