Garbage in. Garbage out

Foul hazard: The high mound of garbage at the Bantar Gebang Integrated Waste Processing Area can produce an almost paralysing, raw and sickly stench. - Photos by Team Ceritalah

A vast, 120-hectare moonscape of toxic, foul-smelling and suppurating waste; this huge dump (the largest uncovered landfill in Southeast Asia) serves the 32 million-strong Jakarta conurbation. Estimated to contain over 39 million tonnes of garbage, (7,000 tonnes are being added daily) it should reach its full capacity of 49 million tonnes by 2021–if not sooner.

Ibu Suki Sri, now 52-years old, started scavenging at the facility when it first opened thirty years ago. Back then, the rubbish was deposited in a series of craters left behind by quarrying activity. Three decades on, Bantar Gebang – at least from a distance – is more like a range of hills: ten small hills to be exact.