Jakarta – The West Java administration is expanding its cleanup operation of the Citarum River, known as one of the dirtiest rivers in the region.
The local administration last week deployed a team of workers to clean up the Citarum after a post by environmental activist group Pandawara showing a massive stretch of floating trash in the river went viral.
West Java administration secretary Herman Suryatman said local authorities would widen the area of the cleanup operation to 500 meters to the west and east of the river from the initial plan, causing them to extend the campaign from one week to one and a half months.
Authorities previously estimated that the floating garbage spanned around 3 kilometers and weighed around 100 tonnes.
"Extra time is needed because we need not only to clear the floating garbage but also dredge the buildup of trash on the riverbed [...]," Herman said on Tuesday, as quoted from Kompas.com.
"We will also set up nets [trash traps] upstream so that we can filter newly dumped garbage from flowing downstream."
Spanning 270 kilometers, the Citarum is one of the rivers supplying water to at least 27 million people living in West Java and Jakarta. Three hydroelectric power plants that collectively generate 1,400 megawatts of electricity also source energy through the river.
Even though it is a crucial natural resource for the two provinces, the Citarum was named the most polluted river in the country for its alarming toxicity levels due to unchecked dumping of industrial and household waste over years.
"The key [to waste-free Citarum] is collaboration between all parties," Herman said. (alf)