Thick columns of black smoke emerged from dozens of chimneys of tofu cottage industries in in June 2019 in Tropodo village, Krian, Sidoarjo regency, East Java. Although they wore face masks, the local people still breathed in the smoke.In only a matter of seconds, breathing becomes difficult while heads become light. Black soot collects around the nostrils in an instant. All result from the furnaces of soy-based production factories that burn waste for fuel. For more than 10 years, the local tofu producers have used waste instead of firewood for fuel, because it is cheaper.
“One truckload of waste is only Rp 200,000 (US$14.37), whereas it is Rp 1 million for firewood. I need two truckloads of waste to cook one ton of soy beans every day,” said Jumaati, one of the 31 tofu cottage industries in Tropodo.
The waste comes from Bangun village in Pungging district, Mojokerto regency, some 5 kilometers from Tropodo. Bangun has many waste collectors who sell dry waste as fuel.
Piles of garbage are a common sight in Bangun village. When Kompas visited the village, children were playing on garbage piles in an empty lot. Some ran around while others ate snacks. They all looked happy, without any signs of discomfort at the garbage lying around.
Piles of garbage also fill people’s yards, as most villagers worked as either factory workers or waste sorters.
Annisa from Bangun said the garbage was “bought” from several paper factories in East Java. Waste from a paper factory in Mojokerto, for instance, was purchased for Rp 250,000 to Rp 300,000 a truckload.
The factory waste is then sorted based according to selling value, from used cans to bottle caps, to plain and colored plastic bags and to aluminum foil. Only about 25 percent of a truckload of waste can be reused; the rest is just residual waste.
The waste that is bought from these factories is allegedly imported. The types of waste vary, but most of it is household waste. The allegation arises from the labels found on the waste items, which show that the products are made in Australia, the US, the UK and Canada, even Greece.
Kompas confirmed this when it joined East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa’s work visit to a Mojokerto paper factory. The factory is among around a dozen in East Java that use imported recycled paper as raw material.
The imported recycled paper also contains waste items, including hazardous and toxic waste (limbah B3) and plastics.
Fuel
Annisa said that unmanageable waste used to be worthless. They were usually mixed with soil to use as fill or were just left in piles. Some people dried them out to use as cooking fuel.
Over the past 10 years, however, dried residual waste has gained popularity. Many home industries such as tofu and cracker factories use it as fuel. A truckload of residual waste costs between Rp 50,000 and Rp 80,000, excluding transportation fees.
The problem arises during the rainy season, as the waste is damp and cannot be sold as fuel. They begin to pile up and cause a stench, inviting mosquitos and causing illnesses.
However, the local residents seem to be unaware of the dangers. Instead, in order to protect their livelihoods, they asked East Java Governor Khofifah and Mojokerto acting regent Pungkasiadi not to prohibit them from collecting waste. Many said that they could send their children to school because of the waste.
Naidah said that she earned Rp 40,000 per day from sorting waste, enough to cover her daily needs. She said that she hoped that the waste would continue to flow into her village as a source of income.
Khofifah said that the people should also take care of their health. “If you have a lot of money but you’re sick, what good is it?” she said.
Living with waste has adverse effects on the health and could make people vulnerable to disease, especially when waste is managed without the proper protection like masks, gloves and safety shoes. Open piles of waste also pollute the environment, including ground water. The pollution is mainly caused when water soaks the waste to produce runoff, such as in rain.
The Sidoarjo health agency found plastic and toxic waste in Tropodo village. The agency head, Syaf Satriawan, said that the smoke from burning waste was thick and black, which indicated the presence of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide.
These gases are carcinogenic and can harm the respiratory organs.
In addition, the smoke also contained dangerous colorless and odorless gases that were thought to contain dioxins, furan and lead. These gases are carcinogenic and can harm the respiratory organs.
Sidoarjo and Mojokerto are just two examples of Indonesia’s “colonialization” by imported waste. Similar conditions can also be found in Karawang, West Java, and in Serang, Banten. These stories will be rendered meaningless without real efforts from stakeholders to find solutions. (BAY/MEL/ICH)