In the last few years, a lot of ideas were developed to process garbage in cities in our country."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) held a limited cabinet meeting here on Tuesday to discuss garbage-related problems in the country.

He said that breakthroughs must be made with regard to processing garbage right from households to the final dumping sites.

"In the last few years, a lot of ideas were developed to process garbage in cities in our country," he added.

However, despite all the ideas that emerged, President Jokowi expressed regret that no Indonesian city had successfully handled the issue of garbage disposal.

"In countries such as Germany, Singapore and Korea, I have seen different techniques implemented to process garbage. However, I have never found such methods being used in Indonesia," Jokowi pointed out.

Furthermore, the head of state observed that issues in dealing with garbage were mostly over regulations.

"I tried this once when I was the mayor. I found it difficult to implement because regulations were complicated. The situation in Jakarta was the same, as well," he remarked.

In addition, the president emphasized that to ensure the successful implementation of a garbage processing program, it must be carried out in an integrated and systematic manner by central and regional governments as well as by communities and businesses.

"It is most important to get economic benefits out of garbage processing and ensuring environmental health. They are crucial for the community and the changing public behavior, as well," he noted.

According to Jokowi, activities related to the disposal of garbage so far merely included collecting, transporting and dumping using old processes and technology.

"In view of that, a breakthrough is needed to build an integrated system. We wish to develop a city or district that can serve as an example for its proper garbage processing methods, be it with the use of an incinerator, a recycling system or any other method," he stressed.

(Reporting by Agus Salim/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/B003)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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