Living on Piles of Garbage

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Garbage litters the landscape of Kampung Bengek on Monday (2/9/2019) in Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North Jakarta. The residents of the kampung, which occupies land belonging to state port operator PT Pelindo II, live in semi-permanent stilt houses made of plywood and timber due to financial strife amid the high cost of living in the capital.

Living in a city where public services are far from adequate has forced people to adapt, which many may think is beyond reason. This includes living amid piles of garbage.

There is no mark in the gate to indicate that it is Bengek village, located in neighborhood RW 017 in Penjaringan subdistrict, North Jakarta. There are only muddy paths with black water. At one of the entrances, there is a place for collecting solid waste owned by Joko Purwanto.

The 65-year-old scavenger stopped collecting plastic cups when Kompas met him on Sept. 2. He became a "tour guide" of the media crews curious about life in Bengek village.

Passing through the gap between 3 meter high concrete walls, is a sight that gives one the impression “You have not been to the slums of Jakarta if you have not visited Bengek village."

Some residents\' houses stand side by side with rubbish bins. Some are stilt houses built on the piles of garbage. Most of the garbage comprises used plastics.

There is also cardboard and polystyrene. Used wood boards, worn plywood and wooden poles were used by the residents as the materials for their houses. Joko said the land occupied by the village was formerly a pond, which had been filled with garbage.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Garbage litters the ground around a warning sign on Monday (2/9/2019) in Kampung Bengek of Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North Jakarta. State port operator PT Pelindo II erected the signboard to warn the kampung’s residents that any illegal dwellings erected on the property will be demolished. The slum area emerged in the area as the city’s impoverished residents, such as garbage pickers, erected temporary dwellings due to financial strife amid the high cost of living in the capital.

The garbage collected by the residents in Bengek village comes from everywhere. Some is from local residents, other garbage is collected from other areas and from other parties. There is no community organization in Bengek village.

Entering the village is like stepping foot in a maze with paths about 1 meters in width. It cannot be imagined what would happen if there was a fire.

Flies are everywhere, the smell of chicken coops sticks in the air. The condition has not changed in three to five years.

The Jakarta administration was irritated after news about the waste in Bengek village became public knowledge. It then sent officers on Aug. 31 to transport garbage from the village. Until now, 160 cubic meters of garbage have been removed and taken to Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java.

The head of the North Jakarta Environment Agency, Slamet Riyadi, said his office did not take the garbage in Bengek village because the land was owned by the Sunda Kelapa port unit of port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II (IPC). According to the rules, the owner is responsible for management of their property.

About 180 families live in Bengek village illegally, according to the Sunda Kelapa port operator,

Sarwana, 60, a resident of Bengek villlage said he and his wife and grandchildren lived there because he was unemployed. Sarwana cannot afford to rent a house. In the village, he can use the land for free.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A warning sign stands on Monday (2/9/2019) in Kampung Bengek of Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North Jakarta. The sign declares that the land belongs to state port operator PT Pelindo II, and that any illegal dwellings erected on the property will be demolished. Financial strife amid the high cost of living in the capital has prompted some people to build temporary dwellings in the area, most of which are stilt houses made of plywood and timber.

Because the garbage in the village is not picked up by local authorities, many residents burn the trash there.

River of trash

The urban waste crisis also afflicts Jakarta\'s neighbors. Pina, 55, for example, was busy chasing away flies while serving customers in her small stall on the banks of the Jambe River in Mangunjaya village, South Tambun, Bekasi Regency, West Java.

"This is a fly from the Jambe River. Behind the river, there is garbage, " she said.

The Jambe River is a tributary of the Cikarang River, which runs into the Java Sea. The river, which is filled with rubbish, is located by Mangunjaya village, South Tambun district, and Karangsatria Village, North Tambun district.

The waste mostly comes from illegal dumpsites (TPS) in villages and factories located near the rivers.

Satori, 85, the owner of an illegal dumpsite in RT 003 RW 004 neighborhood in Karangsatria village, said the garbage in the area came from 18 neighborhoods in Karangsatria village. The garbage, according to him, also came from modern residential areas. Nine of Satori’s children transport garbage from each neighborhood for 300,000 per month .

The chairman of the National Solid Waste Coalition, Bagong Suyoto, said the impact of garbage disposal in watersheds could reduce the quality of groundwater and threaten aquatic biota.

Bagong suspects these problems occurred because the garbage transportation service provided by the local government had not reached these areas. The local government’s data that indicates that between 45 and 48 percent of the 2,200 tons of the waste produced per day in Bekasi is handled by the government should be questioned, he said.