Dozens of activists and residents staged a rally on Thursday, protesting Bandung City administration’s plan to build a garbage-based power plant (PLTSa) in Gedebage for fear of air pollution.
The administration and private company PT Bandung Raya Indah Lestari plan to start building the PLTSa in early September in Cempaka Arum, which is situated near the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api soccer stadium.
Protesters carried banners reading “Reject! PLTSa Gedebage”, “Save housing areas from pollution”, “Don’t burn waste near the stadium”.
Head of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) for West Java branch, Dadan Ramdan, said that building such a power plant in the city area that was considered sunken ground was not the right decision as the garbage burning would pollute nearby residential areas.
“Bandung City has a bowl-like land contour. It’s completely different from Jakarta, which is a coastal area,” said Dadan.
“So, the smoke from the garbage burning would trigger severe pollution and the heavy haze would be difficult to handle in this sunken ground like Bandung,” said Dadan.
Moreover, Dadan said that the establishment of the PLTSa, which would apply an incineration system, did not comply with Law No. 18/2008 on waste management and Government Regulation (PP) No. 81/2012 on domestic waste management.
He also criticized the transparency of the bidding process, that was won by PT Bandung Raya Indah Lestari, as the process was not carried out fairly and openly.
Another issue, he continued, is the costly tipping fee, which would amount to around Rp 350,000 (US$31) per ton. In total, the annual tipping fee would be around Rp 89.5 billion to Rp 127.8 billion.
“Some [other] steps that can be taken [to manage waste] is reducing waste, recycling and reusing things that still can be used,” said Dadan.
A community unit head at Rancanumpang subdistrict, Ramram, urged the Bandung Legislative Council to revoke the plan as the location of the future PLTSa was near the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api stadium, which has a capacity of 38,000 seats.
“Power plant? No. Stadium? Yes. The garbage odor would pollute the area in the stadium,” Ramram said.
Responding to the protest, Bandung City councilor Tatang Suratis said that the council would halt the drafting of the waste management regional bill. “We need to further study the bill,” said Tatang.
He said that he would take a look at the tipping fee, access to the power plant project and the land acquisition process. “We will seek the best solution to deal with the waste management,” said Tatang.
