Refleksi : Merdeka 60 tahun untuk hidup dari sampah? Apakah itu kemerdekaan?
http://www.theage.com.au/world/down-in-the-dumps-living-under-threat-20091204-kaw3.html Down in the dumps: living under threat TOM ALLARD, JAKARTA December 5, 2009 Up to 6000 people converge on Bantar Gebang every day, but even this income source will be denied them as the dump reaches its capacity. Photo: Kate Geraghty AS THE sun rises over the hills of Bantar Gebang and the roosters crow to welcome the morning, a familiar scene unfolds. The call to prayer from the mosques that dot this 120-hectare site outside Jakarta has finished and schoolchildren are gathering before heading off to class. Flocks of ducks and geese scurry through the villages and vendors prepare their stalls to serve customers bubur ayam, the chicken porridge that is an Indonesian breakfast staple. Men and women don traditional conical hats and strap wicker baskets to their backs ready for the day's work. There are 6000 of them and they head to the hills carrying the tools of their trade: long metal rods with sharp hooks on the end. But these are not farmers. They are pemulungs, or scavengers. And the hills are not covered with tiered rice paddies, trees or crops. They are colossal mounds of waste, towering into the sky. Their prize is plastic refuse and the race is on to snare the best position as the first trucks from Jakarta begin to arrive through the gates of the enormous dump site. With little apparent regard for their safety, the pemulungs swarm the mounds as the trucks pour out the garbage and bulldozers begin moulding the landfill. At times, it resembles some kind of apocalyptic contest between man and machine. Often, the swinging scoops of the graders will send the pemulungs tumbling down the mountain of trash. It is extraordinary to watch - and smell. The pemulungs wield their rods with incredible dexterity, flicking the plastic bags and packaging into their basket with quicksilver speed. The pemulungs race to their wooden carts to empty their baskets and then head back up to the mountains of rubbish. The price of plastic moves up and down daily like any commodity and the pemulungs say today's rates - 7000 rupiah (80 cents) per kilogram - are good. But it's dangerous work: landslides and broken bones are common. ''It's better money than farming back home,'' says Fajar, nursing a gash on his arm as he sips a drink from a nearby stall. Bantar Gebang is home to several villages, three schools and a community of thousands who pick, wash and grade the plastic and other refuse before selling it. The rubbish is everywhere and many of the homes use recycled materials in their construction. There are floors made of rubber sandals, walls insulated with old clothes, and plastic bags strung together form tarpaulins. But the dump site, servicing the 10 million people of Jakarta, is at the end of its lifespan and the pemulungs will soon have to move on. A new site has yet to be found. Most Indonesians pay little heed to where they toss their rubbish. The canals and rivers of Jakarta are choked with garbage. It's the main reason why the city is so prone to flooding in the wet season. Within minutes of a downpour, Jakarta's traffic typically goes into gridlock as drains and canals overflow. Piles of plastic and other garbage are burned on the roadside, sending an acrid, toxic smoke drifting across neighbourhoods most evenings. Moreover, Indonesians have a love of plastic and packaging. Order a coffee and your cardboard cup will be swathed in sticky-tape, placed in a bag with half a dozen napkins and four sugars. Order a meal dibungkus (to take away) and it's common to find each part of the meal in its own small plastic bag, placed in a box and then another plastic bag. At least as far as meals are concerned, there is a perfect, biodegradable packaging solution that's abundant in Indonesia: the banana leaf. Indeed, the banana leaf is still used to wrap rice and delicacies from the city's streetside restaurants. It's just that it will be wrapped in paper and then plastic and then put in a larger plastic bag. ++++ Lihat : Gambar-gambar : http://www.theage.com.au/multimedia/world/jakartas-rubbish-scavengers/20091204-k9ng.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
