TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The trash piles crisis in Yogyakarta shows no sign of ceasing. Until Thursday, July 27, 2023, the trash piles broaden in several tourist routes and destinations. The cause of this crisis was the closing of the landfill (TPA) in Piyungan due to overload.

The trash piles crisis has been ongoing since Sunday, July 23, 2023, and trash has piled up near the area of Yogyakarta Gembira Loka Zoo. Unloaded trash bags were scattered at the end of a bridge in the east of Gembira Loka. The trash bags seemed to be thrown deliberately to the side of the road. "It's been three days of seeing this on my way to and from work, they keep adding up," said Agung Atmaja (37), a worker from Gunungkidul who commute daily to Yogyakarta City, bearing the rotten smell every time he crosses the bridge.

The trash piles could also be found around the culinary area and west parking site of Kridosono Stadium. The visitors have to smell the stinging rotten smell every time they have breakfast or lunch in the area. "It smells like carcasses, so strong," said Mariati (42), one of the culinary area visitors.

Activist in Yogyakarta Independent Monitoring Forum (Forpi) Baharudin Kamba said that this week, the trash piles keep increasing on the main road of Yogyakarta. "The people start to feel indifferent to throwing their trash away on the side of the road since the depots were closed," he said.

To combat the trash crisis, Governor of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X said that he planned to reopen the Piyungan landfill on Friday, July 28, 2023. However, it will be opened limitedly, thus the volume of waste accumulated will be 200 tonnes a day, half of the trash average in Yogyakarta, Sleman, and Bantul at 700 tonnes.

The Governor also instructed Sleman Regent Office to open an Integrated Waste Management Site in Tamanmartani, Kalasan District, Sleman as a temporary landfill amid the closing of TPA Piyungan. The location in Tamansari will be replacing the slope of Merapi Mountain as the alternative site.

PRIBADI WICAKSONO

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