JAKARTA: The death of a firefighter while battling a blaze at an illegal dumpsite near Jakarta's largest wholesale market in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, has renewed concerns over the capital's persistent waste management crisis.
According to the Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency, the fire broke out on Saturday morning at a plot of land that had been illegally used as a dumpsite for months. The blaze quickly spread through piles of garbage reaching up to six metres high.
The agency deployed 10 fire engines and 50 personnel to extinguish the fire, which took around six hours to contain.
During the operation, firefighter Andriyono, who had been assigned to locate water sources, complained of chest pain and difficulty breathing. Strong winds reportedly spread smoke and toxic fumes across the area.
The agency, however, said Andriyono had not been working directly at the fire scene when he fell ill and noted that he had a history of heart disease.
He was rushed to Harapan Bunda Hospital nearby, where he was pronounced dead.
"We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim. We will ensure that all of his rights and entitlements are fully honoured in accordance with prevailing laws," Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency head Bayu Megantara said on Sunday.
The agency announced on Monday that the fire had been fully contained, although several firefighters remained at the site to monitor for flare-ups.
Separately, the Jakarta Environment Agency said it had removed the remaining waste from the illegal dumpsite and transported it to designated temporary waste collection facilities.
The site had become one of several makeshift dumping grounds that emerged after disruptions to waste transportation. As of April, nearly 7,000 tonnes of garbage had accumulated there after trucks were unable to transport waste to the city-owned Bantar Gebang landfill in neighbouring Bekasi, West Java.
The incident came as Jakarta continued to face mounting pressure to reform its waste management system, particularly following the deadly collapse at Bantar Gebang in March, which killed seven people.
The 110-hectare landfill, located about 25 kilometres east of the capital, contains more than 80 million tonnes of the city's waste and has long relied on open dumping, in which garbage is piled up without adequate treatment.
The central government has ordered the Jakarta administration to phase out the practice, citing the landfill's severely overloaded condition.
In a statement to The Jakarta Post on Monday, Jakarta Environment Agency head Dudi Gardesi Asikin said Bantar Gebang had begun gradually restricting incoming waste to non-recyclable residual waste.
"The ultimate objective is to ensure all waste generated in Jakarta is properly managed, with only residual waste ending up in landfills, while completely ending open dumping by 2029," Dudi said.
To support that target, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung recently issued a gubernatorial instruction requiring households to separate their waste before disposal in an effort to reduce pressure on Bantar Gebang.
Greenpeace Indonesia zero-waste campaigner Ibar Akbar welcomed the plan to end open dumping but warned that stronger waste segregation and greater investment in waste management infrastructure would be needed to prevent illegal dumpsites from emerging elsewhere as waste flows are redirected.
"Although the closure of open dumping at Bantar Gebang will be gradual, we must anticipate the accumulation of mixed waste at several locations," he said.- Jakarta Post/ANN
