Best Practice Summary Padang City, Indonesia

Country:

Indonesia

Local Government:

Padang City

Type:

Municipality

Best Practice Title:

Waste Collection and Transportation Service of Padang City

Aspect of Governance:

Thematic Area 3: Inclusive urban public services

Reported By:

Ir. H. EMZALMI, M.Si Head of Padang City Development Planning Agency

Start Date:

2004

Website:

http://www.padang.go.id/ (in Bahasa Indonesia only)

Description: Background

Until 2003 there were 74 locations for temporary waste disposal in the area of Padang City, spread out over six sub-districts, and containers in 39 locations spread out over five sub-districts. The waste collection from these locations and from homes as well street cleaning was the responsibility of the Cleanliness and Park Agency (DKP), assisted by the community.

1.432m3/day of waste was produced by households, restaurants/bars, shops and industrial activities. Meanwhile, parks and streets were responsible for 75.5m3 of waste and offices for 26m3. Of these, 800m3 could be processed daily by employing 699 people with the following job division: 114 people working in collection services, 140 assigned to transportation and 23 people working on the landfill site (TPA).

With a growing population, the daily waste was estimated to increase to 2,487.71m3. As only 800m3 of waste could be processed daily, there was a huge gap in processing capacity. Littering of public places as well as burning of

household waste was therefore common.

Consequently, there was waste piling up on the city’s main streets during the day, causing inconvenience and marring the attractiveness of the city. In addition, due to a limited number of waste bins and convenient locations for depositing rubbish, waste bags were often simply left outside houses, causing inconvenience for pedestrians and traffic.

The main reasons for the discrepancy between the amount of waste produced and the amount that could be collected and processed were the lack of transportation services and the location of the waste bins which made it hard for the DKP personnel to empty them.

Public awareness of the waste problem and of the advantages of having a clean and well-ordered urban community was there, but Padang City Administration was limited in how much it good provide in terms of means and infrastructure for waste management, leading to less than optimum waste handling on main streets and in settlement areas.

The Initiative

In 2004, the Padang City Administration through the Mayor initiated an innovative scheme for waste disposal services in Padang City, concentrating on easing the collection and transportation of waste. Whereas in the past, waste was collected from storage bins on side streets, people were now required to put their waste already into rubbish sacks, to make collection quicker and easier.

In a truly innovative move, the concept of ‘waste hanging’ was introduced, i.e. a place was designated to hang waste in a plastic bag outside the house. This enabled areas without much space to put their rubbish out in a clean and efficient way without obstructing the streets and presenting obstacles to passers-by. These places were chosen for ease and convenience, so the collection process does not take very long.

To ensure that waste did not pile up on the main streets, the DKP also started to use smaller vehicles such as waste rickshaws or ‘becak motor sampah’ (BMS), a motorcycle with a waste collecting bin at the back. With a fleet of BMSs, the mobility and intensity of waste collection is improving.

Results Achieved and Relevance to Public Life The objective of the initiative was to improve the cleanliness of the city, which is of obvious relevance to public life. Significant results were reached quickly: 1. The amount of waste piled up in the temporary storage facilities has

decreased, particularly on the main streets and in the city centre in the mornings. In the past, the previous day’s garbage was still there by 9am the next morning, but thanks to the new and more efficient system, the waste can be collected earlier in the day.

2. Collection and transportation time has been reduced, making the

collection services more time-efficient and cost-effective, due to the insistence that all rubbish was put into bag and, through enabling ‘waste hanging’.

3. The scheme has been accepted by the local community who are

cooperating by using the ‘waste hanging’ facilities and by putting waste into rubbish bags before depositing them at a temporary waste disposal place.

4. There is an increasing awareness by the community of the benefits from

the new system, which encourages the compliance with the demand to put garbage into rubbish bags and not just to throw it out on the street or burn it.

5. There is an increase in the participation of the private sector in the

procurement of the necessary new-style collection vehicles, with a sponsorship programme in place. At the time of writing, there were 51 units of BMS and 1000 of GS in place.

6. In 2007 the Padang City Government received the 19th Adipura trophy, a

prestigious award for good environmental management, for the category of medium city from the national government.

Main Activities The results were reached through the following activities: 1. A study was carried out by an agency, looking at the advantages and

disadvantages of the previous system of rubbish collection. The conclusion was that it would be feasible and useful to add smaller and more flexible vehicles, such as the BMS to the existing containers, trucks and personnel as well as introduce waste hanging.

2. Financing options were investigated by the mayor and implementation

agencies, including meetings with the private sector, for example banks, insurance and telecommunication companies. This fundraising strategy proved successful, with several companies having agreed to sponsor vehicles.

3. The placing of facilities for waste hanging in locations where it is difficult

to put waste bins, particularly in the city centre and housing complexes. 4. Establishing a new schedule for waste collection (between 5am and 4pm)

and communicating this to the personnel and the public through various media.

5. Encouraging the community to participate in joint efforts to clean their city

once a month; these cleaning campaigns are led directly by the officials of Padang City.

6. Providing insurance to all personnel of the cleaning and park maintenance

department and their wives and up to two children. Up to now, 739 personnel have been insured for health, accidents and death.

7. Issuing of a regulation to maintain city cleanliness (Regional Regulation

Number 04 Year 2007 as revision of Regional Regulation Number 11 Year 2005 of Public Order and Community Security). The regulation foresees a sentence of a maximum of three months imprisonment and a fine of a maximum of Rp 5,000,000 for non-compliance.

Lessons Learnt From this program some lessons can be learned. First, even waste management can engage private sector/sponsor in the procurement of its means. Second, political will from a regional head is a decisive factor for addressing this issue. Most important, however, is the cooperation by all parties involved. Sustainability The Padang City Administration is committed to continuing the program although until now the retribution submitted by this sector is not comparable to the budget allocated through the annual budget, i.e. 16.17%. The personnel will even be provided with more benefit, namely scholarship for their children with good achievements. In addition, the waste management in the city has attracted investors to set up business related to this sector, such as a composting plant and methane gas plant in Air Dingin Landfill in Koto Tengah Sub-district. There are, however, still several obstacles, that are being faced by the government in tackling the waste problems, such as: - Limited quality and quantity of means and infrastructure; - Limited budget; - Limited engagement of the community and the private sector; - There is no segregation between organic and inorganic waste. Transferability Innovations that can be transferred in waste management from Padang City are the ‘waste hanging’ and the smaller and more flexible collection vehicles used, as well as the sponsorship system. However, some preconditions need to be met when considering implementing a similar programs, such as:

- A clear commitment and support from the executive leadership, the legislature and all stakeholders, including prominent figures, customary leaders, and bundo kanduang;

- Availability of means and infrastructure as well as sufficient human resources;

- Availability of financial support to cover operational expenses.

Up to now there has been considerable interest from many other city governments in Indonesia, including Jambi, West Jakarta, Bandung and Palembang. The sponsorship aspect is seen as most relevant and innovative.

Picture 1: Waste transportation fleet in Padang

Picture 2: Innovation of ‘waste hanging’ in Padang