Tempo.Co, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration is considering using one of the islands in the Thousand Islands as a landfill. Asep Kuswanto, head of the Jakarta Environmental Agency, said the plan was still in the study stage at both the provincial and central government levels.
"This idea was prompted by the limitations of land in Jakarta and driven by the need for additional land for infrastructure development, so that efforts must be made to develop regional space for integrated utilities in Jakarta," Asep told Tempo when contacted via text message on Monday, July 22, 2024.
Asep said the island would be used as a large-scale waste processing facility, considering that Jakarta's garbage pile has been growing every year, while the capacity of the Bantar Gebang Landfill or TPA is declining.
"In addition, we can also build wastewater treatment plants and power plants," he said.
Asep clarified that using an island for waste management is only a plan. So far, there has not been any study done on this plan.
"There has been no study. We have the term Island 0, based on the governor's regulation no. 121 of 2012. Island 0 is 344 hectares, included in the eastern sub-region," said Asep.
He explained that it is hoped that the existence of Island 0 can be managed as a center for developing utilities related to wastewater and waste.
Heru Budi Hartono, the acting governor of Jakarta, had also responded to the plan to use an island in the Seribu Islands for waste management. "The study is still being processed. Please discuss it, it still needs to be discussed by the Minister of Environment and environmental experts," Heru said in Central Jakarta on Saturday, July 20.