At the launch of a collaborative vehicle emission monitoring initiative here on Tuesday, Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said that besides emissions from transportation and industries, open burning is one of the sources of air pollution in Jakarta and its surrounding areas.
In this regard, he emphasized that the law must be enforced with utmost firmness.
"Now, it is just a matter of how the Ministry of Environment, with support from its partners, both the police and the Public Security and Order Agency (Satpol PP), will immediately sweep through the remaining open burning," he added.
The ministry has identified open burning practices not only in Jakarta, but also in surrounding areas such as Bekasi and Karawang, which require support from regional governments to tackle.
According to Nurofiq, action needs to be taken considering that open burning of waste has an impact on air pollution, which ultimately affects public health.
Open burning of waste without special handling also contributes to environmental pollution. This includes incomplete burning of plastic waste, which can release microplastics into the ecosystem as well as pollutants such as dioxins, which affect human health.
Provisions prohibiting the burning of waste that does not comply with the technical requirements for waste management have been laid down in Law Number 18 of 2008 concerning Waste Management.
The Ministry of Environment has carried out enforcement against open burning practices in illegal landfills in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek).
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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