When Garbage Works
The tragedy of the collapse of a garbage mound at the Leuwigajah dump, Bandung, is marked as National Waste Day. The disaster was the tip of the iceberg of poor management of waste in the country. Regional administrations still rely on terminal disposal sites for open dumping. In fact, this method poses a drain on cost and labor, even triggering conflict. What’s the solution?
February 24, 2010
IT was before dawn in the terminal dump (TPA) of Leuwigajah, Bandung, on February 21, 2005. The rain was pouring down. Local residents were sound asleep. All of a sudden, a mound of garbage 60 meters high, 200 meters wide and 375 meters long collapsed as rainwater washed it down. The rubbish rushed down as far as almost a kilometer, like a tsunami wrecking everything in its path. Within minutes, nearly 200 people perished and 61 houses in Cilim
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