IO – The ongoing Waste-to-Energy Processing (PSEL) facility project in Tangerang City is now entering a new phase. Recently, the Tangerang City Government held an online open public outreach to solicit input from cross-stakeholders, including the Central Government (Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Work & Public Housing, Ministry of Environment and Forestry), Banten Province Government, Tangerang City Head of Local Government Agencies (OPD), academics, experts, environmental activists, to Tangerang City Community Leaders.
This socialization activity was opened directly by the Mayor of Tangerang, Arief R. Wismansyah, and attended by nearly 300 participants, thus demonstrating the public’s enthusiasm for the plan to build a PSEL facility in Tangerang City. According to the Mayor, the implementation of PSEL in Tangerang City is one of the breakthroughs in urban waste management.
“This is an effort to improve public health and environmental quality in Tangerang City, to reduce waste accumulation at the Rawa Kucing Landfill, and to secure added value in the form of electrical energy”, said Arief.
Director of Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Novrizal Tahar, commended the steps taken by the Tangerang City Government, and all the people who support PSEL socialization. For him, in addition to promotional efforts to change people’s behavior in consumption and other daily activities, waste management solutions can no longer succeed with conventional approaches. There are many problems, such as limited land, burgeoning volumes of waste which cannot be eliminated by simply piling up waste in landfills.
“We need to industrialize waste management with modern technology, and manage it professionally. Certainly, with the right technology, the institutional structure must also be good”, explained Novrizal.
Waste emergencies in 12 cities included in Presidential Regulation No. 35 year 2018 resemble chronic diseases: in fact, they are already in stages 4-5 in severity, he added. Therefore, it is not enough just to change behavior or carry out promotive activities. Intervention, such as the use of various technologies at PSEL facilities, in Tangerang City as well, is needed to accelerate the resolution of this problem.
The good news is that if the 12 cities are able to operate PSEL with a total waste processed of up to 18,000 tons per day, then in one year Indonesia can contribute to reducing as much as 4.3 million tons of CO2 emissions to the world.
Academics and experts invited agreed that PSEL is a vital tool which role will complement the activities of waste reduction, reuse and recycling that are currently being carried out at the 3R Waste Management site (TPS3R), in which the materials that cannot be processed in TPS3R will be sent to PSEL to be utilized to generate electricity.
Pandji Prawisudha, Dr.Eng., Energy Conversion Expert from Bandung Institute of Technology, stated that the integration of several technologies in the development plan of the Tangerang City PSEL facility, namely sorting, biogas production, and RDF combustion facilities, have the potential to form a circular supply chain that will mutually reinforce the resolution of solid waste problems.
“Whether or not PSEL in Tangerang City is suitable, I dare to say that PSEL is a realistic solution for Indonesia, and I hope that PSEL which will be built in Tangerang City will reduce the pile of garbage in the Rawa Kucing Landfill which has not been utilized so far”, explained the alumnus of Tokyo Institute of Technology.
He added that if the sorting process occurs properly, so that good quality waste can be supplied to PSEL, then the waste treatment process can take place optimally.
Tukidi, Environmental Activist from the Gawe Rukun Kunciran Indah Garbage Bank Community as part of the Tangerang City community, expressed support for the government’s program to process waste at the PSEL facilities. This is because the amount of waste that arrives at Rawa Kucing is very unsettling, since it has exceeded 1,500 tons per day, which, if not processed, is only a matter of time before the Rawa Kucing landfll overflows.
“There is no other way but to process it with technology; the faster the implementation is better; there is no other way but to agree with the program,” explained Tukidi.
Cynthia Hendrayani, President Director of Oligo Infrastructure Indonesia, also expressed her appreciation to the Ministries/Institutions at the central government level and the Tangerang City Government officials who have successfully held public socialization. The discussion proved to elicit a positive response from the stakeholders.
The result of the poll conducted during the socialization showed that 93% of the attendees supported the development of the Tangerang City PSEL, while the other 7% of the participants had a neutral standing, and there were no participants who opposed the Tangerang City PSEL. Moreover, a member of the DPRD, Warta Supriyatna, reaffirmed the council’s support for this activity.
This strong public support is, of course, very encouraging, and it brings hope of a smooth process in developing PSEL’s physical infrastructure which will begin with the process of signing a cooperation agreement between the Tangerang City Government and Oligo as soon as possible.
“For the socialization that have taken place, we have received input, aspirations and expectations from stakeholders. In particular, Oligo expressed appreciation to the Tangerang City Government for successfully bringing the cooperation to this stage,” closed Cynthia. (rp)