Indonesia capital faces ‘filthy’ trash crisis

JAKARTA (AFP) — Garbage-choked streets, overloaded landfills and the fear of trash avalanches haunt greater Jakarta, as the world’s most populous metropolis grapples with a waste crisis.

Jakarta and its satellite cities, known collectively as Jabodetabek, are home to 42 million people and produce up to an estimated 14,000 tons of waste daily.

That has placed increasing strain on the approximately eight landfill sites that serve the region, which are now all close to or entirely full, according to local media reports.

At a traditional market in the city’s south, Nurhasanah said the garbage piling up by her coffee and snacks stand was bad for business.

“The smell is awful, very pungent. It is also unpleasant to look at. It looks filthy,” said Nurhasanah, who like many Indonesians only has one name.

Experts say population growth, rising incomes leading to higher consumption, and a chronic lack of sorting and disposal enforcement have created the crisis.

Capacity is even an issue at the massive Bantar Gebang site, one of the world’s largest open landfills, sprawling over more than 110 hectares.

It already holds around 55 million tons of trash, according to a local environment agency official, who did not specify how much space was left despite reports it is at overcapacity.

In South Tangerang, some pedestrians gagged and swatted at swarms of flies as they walked down littered streets.

“I’m disappointed. We, as civilians, pay taxes, right? So why is the government like this? Waste management should be their responsibility,” Muhammad Arsil, a 34-year-old motorbike taxi driver, told Agence France-Presse.

Another resident, Delfa Desabriyan, said people threw rubbish in the street because the local landfill was full.

“Every single day, there’s always someone dumping trash,” the 19-year-old shop attendant said.

“It’s annoying, to be honest, like when we want to eat, I lose my appetite. The smell is just off-putting.”

The nearest landfill only holds 400 tons of waste, well below the 1,100 tons South Tangerang produces daily, according to the local government.

The problem extends beyond the capital, with President Prabowo Subianto warning almost all the country’s landfills will be full (or over capacity) by 2028.