Ciliwung Filtration System Aims to Block Waste from Entering Jakarta

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Environment Agency on Thursday said it expects to see the completion of a filtration system for the Ciliwung river by the end of the year in December. The system that is currently being constructed aims to filter waste along the river’s stream and prevent it from entering the Jakarta area. 

“It is currently under construction and hopefully in December will complete,” said Jakarta environmental agency head Asep Kuswanto on June 23, Antaranews reported. “It will at least reduce chances of urban flooding from river overflow caused by trash and waste in Ciliwung.”

One hectare of land area on both sides of the river is being prepared to accommodate this facility, which is expected to cost up to Rp197 billion. The government is nearly completing the land acquirement in the area that is scheduled to finish in July.

This aligns with the Jakarta Governor’s instruction No.49/2021 which prioritizes the program to filter waste entering the city.

Sachet packaging waste 

A study by the Indonesian Zero Waste Alliance (AZWI) showed that a huge amount of sachet waste was found along the Ciliwung River. "In Ciliwung, most Unilever sachets were found stuck in trees and in estuaries," said Daru Setyorini, a member of the ESN research team involved in the AZWI action.

"Of the 600 sachets we found, most of them were Unilever products, followed by Wings and Indofood. Unilever, Wings, and Indofood need responsibility to clean up the sachet waste that pollutes Ciliwung," said Daru.

ANTARA

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