Handling the Impact of Waste Landslide at the Cipeucang Landfill, South Tangerang, Indonesia

As reported by Tribunnews.com, the Cipeucang Waste Disposal Site (TPA), located in Serpong Regency, South Tangerang City, Indonesia, was reported to be having a partial landslide on Friday, May 22, 2020, in the morning.

The Landslide of Cipeucang Landfill

The landslide event of the Cipeucang Waste Landfill was reportedly due to a breakdown of the plaster (concrete barrier). Fortunately, there were no fatalities from the Cipeucang landfill, but it was reported that some of the Cipeucang landfill waste entered the Cisadane River which is very close to the landfill area.

Quoting from Kompas.com article (05/22/2020), Yepi Suherman, Secretary of the South Tangerang Environment Agency (Sekretaris Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Tangerang Selatan), informed that there might be around 100 tons of waste covering the river flow.

Steps for Handling Waste Pollution in the Cisadane River Due to Cipeucang Landfill Landslide

Cisadane River is one of the cross-provincial rivers that passes through the provinces of West Java and Banten. The Cisadane River originates from the foot of Mount Salak and Mount Pangrango which flows northward through the cities of Bogor, Ciampera, Tangerang, and ends at the Java sea.

Quoted from Tribunjakarta.com (05/22/2020) according to Ira Indirayuni, Corporate Communication Manager of PT Aetra Air Tangerang, the landslide of Cipeucang Waste Landfill in South Tangerang that was partially covering the flow of the Cisadane River has not had an impact on clean water management in Tangerang Regency.

Ira claimed more than 77 thousand customers in eight sub-districts in Tangerang Regency were still not affected by the landslide of Cipeucang Waste Landfill. Ira also added that there were four water intakes owned by Aetra Tangerang embedded in the Cisadane River near the Bendungan Pintu Air 10 (water dam gate) which is approximately 23 kilometers from the landslide point of the Cipeucang landfill on the Cisadane River. She said her team was trying to do the handling and prevention with extra supervision, open-close the floodgates, and nets in order to prevent further waste pollution that has an impact on the provision of clean water to the community.

It was also reported by Tribunnews.com that the Head of the South Tangerang Environmental Service (Kepala Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Tangerang Selatan), Toto Sudarto, claimed that the South Tangerang City Government also included experts and academics who were experts in the field of natural resource conservation to assist in the rehabilitation of the Cisadane River flow that was polluted by the Cipeucang landfill.

The Condition of Cipeucang Waste Landfill, South Tangerang, Before the Landslide

Quoting from Tangerangnews.com from the article published on January 4, 2019, before the landslide event of the Cipeucang Waste Landfill, the South Tangerang Environmental Waste Department Head (Kepala Bidang Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Tangerang Selatan), Wismansyah, stated that based on the calculation in 2018, there were around 300 tons of waste entering Cipeucang landfill per day.

Wismansyah also added that the Cipeucang landfill is expected to only be able to accommodate waste until 2020.

The community around the Cipeucang landfill has been aware of the negative impact of the overcapacity landfill. Yapelh (Yayasan Peduli Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia – Indonesian Environmental Care Foundation) and Formasi (Forum Masyarakat Serpong Peduli – Serpong Forum for Community Care) have conducted campaigns and actions in 2019 to foster public awareness and related institutions about the condition of Cipeucang Landfill. Most people around the landslide complain about the smell, also about the location of the Cipeucang landfill which is too close to the Cisadane River, not to mention the danger of landslides from a pile of garbage that has piled high.

The problem of landfills that are overcapacity and requires extra attention has happened several times in Indonesia, one of which was the explosion of the Leuwigajah landfill in West Java which claimed lives and sparked the commemoration of the Indonesian Waste Care Day (Hari Peduli Sampah Nasional Indonesia) every February 21.

Cipeucang Waste Landfill (TPA), South Tangerang, is one of the many landfills in Indonesia that is experiencing overcapacity problems (read: Indonesia’s Waste Emergency: Indonesia’s Landfills are on the Verge of Overcapacity).

Solutions for Overcapacity Waste Landfills in Indonesia

Landfill (Tempat Pemrosesan Akhir – TPA) is designated to be a place where residual waste that can no longer be or is difficult to be recycled is managed and restored in such a way as to avoid polluting the environment (read also: Understand the Difference between TPS, TPS 3R, TPST, and TPA).

One of the waste disposal sites (TPA) that has been revitalized to prevent landslides, reduce odors, and manage/recycle waste so as not to accumulate is the Bantar Gebang Integrated Waste Processing Site (TPST Bantar Gebang). Organic waste is managed into compost, mountains of garbage are covered with special material layer and waste is arranged to form terraces to minimize the risk of landslides. (Also read: Increasing Concern for Bantar Gebang Landfill through Book: Behind the Writing of Aroma Karsa)

Even so, it is proven that mountains of garbage in Bantar Gebang Landfill which has an area of ​​110.3 hectares still continue to increase every day until it reaches a height of about 30 meters. The active role of the community in reducing waste and increasing waste recycling has proven to be very crucial. Therefore, in 2017, the Indonesian government inaugurated the Indonesia Clean-from-Waste 2025 program (Indonesia Bersih Sampah 2025).

Waste4Change Helps Reduce the Amount of Waste that Ends Up in the Landfill

The following is Waste4Change’s services that can help the community to ensure that their waste is segregated and recycled optimally in order to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill:

Send Your Waste

Send inorganic waste via voluntary shipping or parcel services to be recycled by Waste4Change. Check out the types of waste that can be sent and the procedure for sending waste at the following link: Send Your Waste.

Personal Waste Management

You can stay safe at home and still be able to manage waste optimally! Waste4Change provides waste collection services – picking your waste directly from your house! Check the type of waste that Waste4Change collects and how to subscribe at the following link: Personal Waste Management Waste4Change.

Solid Waste Management Research

For companies and agencies that need research and solid waste expert intervention to build an optimal waste management system to reduce factory/company’s waste production that ends up in landfill or to find sustainable and integrated solutions for municipal/district waste management, Waste4Change provides Solid Waste Management Research.

Read the article in Indonesian version in here.