Monday, June 21, 2010 www.thejakartaglobe.

com/greenjakarta

Green Jakarta
Special Issue
Environmental concerns
that are shaping the
city’s development

A Cleaner Future?
Charting the capital’s path to sustainability
2 Green Jakarta Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe Green Jakarta 3

35%
of Jakarta was

Green Space
Introduction A Difficult Path green space in
1965. Now it’s 9%

I
t’s not easy being green. And it’s not cheap, either. Separating paper and
plastic trash, switching off the light as you leave a room or walking instead of
taking a car are simple individual acts that cumulatively can have a great
impact. But what about dealing with multimillion-dollar budgets for citywide

9m
trash disposal? Or cleaning our skies of deadly smog, providing clean and
safe drinking water, and limiting pollution from buildings? now living

Great Idea. How Do We Get Some?

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, a prime target of residents’ anger about the
environmental unfriendliness of the city, knows how tough it is to get things in a city built
done. On any given issue, he is in the hot seat and facing numerous roadblocks
from his constituents, the national government and commercial interests. for 1 million
He doesn’t have time to worry about trash clogging a gutter somewhere
when any decision to replace the city’s landfill in Bekasi with a clean,
high-tech incinerator could lead to social unrest.
Consider landfill. “We pay a tipping fee,” Fauzi told the Jakarta

30%
Globe in an interview for this special section. “For each ton of solid
waste, we pay Rp 103,000 [$11] per ton [to a private operator].
city planners’
Any proposal exceeding that price the city cannot afford.”
In other words, more eco-friendly trash-handling solutions
target for green Jakarta has
than traditional landfill technology run up against fiscal
realities. “If we want to go high-tech, how much do we
space in future lost swathes of
have to pay for each and every ton of our solid waste?
Around Rp 375,000. Where do I get the money?” Fauzi
undeveloped
asked. “I’d have to charge more to the people, but
land over the

35m
who can afford it?”
So green trash disposal, like a lot of other expected to years, but there
environmental issues for our messy, sprawling
city, are a bit more complex than just tossing a live or work in are plans to
biodegradable bag in your trash can.
We all say we want “green” buildings, cars Jakarta by 2020 claw some back
and water services. But getting there is tough.
Buildings can be made greener and cleaner,
hybrid vehicles imported. A central water Report Annie Dang

F
purification and recycling system could

250,000
ease pressure on the land and city.
These are among the issues that airly or unfairly,
officials at the local and national level Jakarta is defined by
must tackle through new policies and its neighborhood
greater cooperation. So far, the record
is not good and we all live with a legacy
people a year move to the city slums, mega-
shopping malls and
of pollution in the age of global torturous traffic.
warming. But that doesn’t mean that Little attention is
the city’s nine million people are paid to its parks - yes,

67%
helpless. Jakarta’s trash recycling it has some - or the slowly increasing
industry, for example, is a grassroots of the city is number of outdoor oases that dot the
creation, built primarily by lower- capital, enabling city dwellers to feel,
income residents. It has now spread occupied by albeit temporarily, as if they're in a
to around one-third of the city’s verdant land.
2,500 neighborhood wards. buildings Despite being congested, a
Top-down action alone won’t magnet for traffic jams and a case
work. Going green is a study in urban sprawl, Jakarta could A spatial planning gallery opened this year in Jl. Abdul Muis, Central Jakarta, gives glimpses of planners’ visions, including this scale model.  JG Photo/ Ulma Haryanto
combination of government be a more pleasant place in the

12,000
policies, local activism and coming decades. The city is
individual action. All three are promised a green face-lift as part of a
already happening in Jakarta, but 2010-2030 spatial master plan that
many green issues have yet to be will see the development of more
tackled.
This special section takes a look
building licenses issued a year green area, although just how much
is far from clear.
at what Jakarta is, or should be, Open space has long been an issue
doing to become a greener city, in Jakarta, with environmental and
and some of the people who are urban-development experts
working behind the scenes to pointing out the obvious: The lack of
make things better. green makes the city less livable.
"There aren't many city parks or
neighborhood parks for families to
CONTENTS use for enjoyment and recreation.
There are plenty of malls and office
buildings, but very few outdoor
Green Space areas for people to enjoy," said
Opening the city ........ 3 Suryono Herlambang, a spatial-
Green Buildings planning expert who heads the
Saving energy .............5 Department of Urban Planning and
Real Estate at Tarumanagara
Green Water
Clean for all . ..................8
University in Jakarta.
The push for a greener Jakarta
Green Wheels
dates back to the rule of President
Sukarno. In 1965, more than 35
Why no hybrids?.......10
Emissions tests.......... 12
percent of Jakarta was green space,
but this has been in continual
Green Garbage decline ever since due to rapid
urbanization and population
Where can it go? .......13 growth. While Indonesia's founding
Scavenger city ..........14 leader was fond of grand
monuments and statues, the national
and city leaders who followed didn't
see open space as a priority. And
modern Jakarta's history of urban
development - numerous master
plans and near-zero implementation
- saw potential green areas
swallowed up by residential and
office developments.
Today, only 9.3 percent of the
city's 661,000 square kilometers is
classified as green space. That
converts to 65 square kilometers, but
it's not as big as it sounds: "green
space" is defined as both public and
private land, meaning household
gardens and potted plants in
addition to city and neighborhood
parks.
"Jakarta has a very limited
amount of green area, given the fact
that it is overcrowded. There isn't
much room to build new green
spaces, so we need to look at new
ways to develop the ones we already
have," Suryono said. "It is not
unusual for an overpopulated city
like Jakarta to have issues with
space, especially green space."
The Jakarta administration says
it is working overtime to reclaim
natural spaces, including by tearing
down 32 gas stations that were
allowed to sprout in green-belt areas
and snapping up plots of land in
about a third of the city's 2,500
neighborhood wards and setting
them aside as pocket parks.
"If you want to increase the green
areas by 1 percent overall, you have
to add 5.6 or 5.7 square kilometers of
open space. That is five and a half
times the size of Monas," Governor
Fauzi Bowo told the Jakarta Globe.
"Where do you get it in Jakarta? It is
a mission impossible."
The lack of space has contributed
to the mall culture that increasingly
defines Jakartans' lives. On
weekends, and for some during the
week, the city's shopping centers are
‘They did
have plans.
They just never
implemented
them’
Historian Andy Alexander
on the city planners in the first
decades after independence
flooded by families, teenagers and
anyone else looking for something to
do in a cool, clean environment.
While convenient, it's not
necessarily healthy - or affordable.
Some of Jakarta's more notable
green areas are Monas, Taman
Suropati, Gelora Bung Karno, Lap
Banteng, Ragunan Zoo, Taman Mini
Indonesia, Cibubur and a few
neighborhood parks in Menteng,
Tebet and Srengseng.
But Suryono says more green
spaces can be developed if the
Jakarta administration and the
public are a little more innovative.
Urban parks can be built along the
water-reservoir areas of Pluit,
Sunter, Pulomas, Grogol and
Tanjung Duren; green spaces can
emerge around riverbanks and
football fields.
"I would also like to see more
neighborhood parks. They are great
for children and families to play and
do activities outdoors," Suryono said.
Any chance of turning back the
clock, experts say, lies with the 2007
Spatial Planning Law. City planners
are now drafting its local
regulations, which are aimed at
modernizing Jakarta's landscape
over the next two decades. Under the
2010-30 master plan, the city is
targeting increasing open green
spaces from 9.3 percent to 30 percent
of the city's area to balance new
urban development.
Suryono says the 30 percent
target is completely unrealistic
because Jakarta is already
overcrowded and the amount of
preserved green space will depend
on the commitment of the city
administration. The only solution is
starting over in a number of areas,
he says.
"Jakarta is an already
overpopulated and overcrowded
city, and living space is limited, so
building a central green space is not
a real option," he said. "There is no
area big enough in Jakarta to build a
central green area, but by
‘restructuring' certain areas we can
create integrated green zones to
improve the amount of green space
available to the public."
Yayat Supriatna, a spatial planner
at Trisakti University in West
Jakarta, also says increasing green
spaces to 30 percent of the city by
2030 is a pipe dream given Jakarta's
high population density, which
Continued on Page 4
4 Green Jakarta
While more parks and playing fields are part of planners’ promises for the future, construction continues apace across a city where 90 percent of the land is already built up.  JG Photo/ Afriadi Hikmal
From Page 3
grows by the year. He says urban
planning requires considerable
foresight and consideration of such
factors as population growth,
density and movement.
“The problem with urban
planning and development in
Jakarta is the amount of people
living in the city, Yayat said. “Jakarta
is handicapped in that respect
because there is limited living space
and continual urban sprawl. This
affects the quality of spatial
planning, with more and more
people moving to the city.”
Each year, more than 250,000
people move to Jakarta for education
and work opportunities. The
uncontrolled movement of people
puts tremendous pressure on the
city's infrastructure and increases
the demand for housing, which runs
counter to the plan to create more
green space.
According to Rachmat Witoelar, a
former state minister for the
environment, Jakarta was designed
to support a population of about a
million, but it's now nine times that
number.
A recent study by the Economy
and Environment Program for
Southeast Asia named Jakarta as the
most vulnerable city in the region to
the impacts of climate change
because of its high population
density. After the release of the study,
Witoelar called for new regulations
to stem the tide of migrants coming
into the capital each year, saying
population density had become an
urban-development issue in addition
to one of public health.
As part of its goal to increase
green space, the Jakarta
administration has proposed
clearing out illegal squatter
communities along rivers and
railway tracks and converting the
land into parks, gardens and
playgrounds. This is easier said than
done, of course, for many complex
reasons, and activists are already
complaining that the communities
have not been consulted.
The city itself is also in a bind. It is
notoriously difficult to acquire land
for any public project, and clearing
away squatters for green spaces is
certain to result in a tangle of court
cases and messy publicity.
The last thing any Jakarta
governor wants to see is a pitched
battle between public-order officers
and local residents over the
demolition of a community.
It is just such a nightmare of
conflicting claims that resulted in
the April rioting that left three dead
in Tanjung Priok when officials
attempted to clear land designated
to be part of an expanded port.
Jakarta  Globe Monday, June 21, 2010
‘The problem Ubaidillah, a member of the
Indonesian Forum for the
with urban Environment (Wahli), says the city's
spatial master plan is badly flawed in
planning and its current form.
"It is not clear how the
development government plans to go about
fulfilling its objectives," he said.
in Jakarta is "Furthermore, it did not really
consult with the community in
the amount of developing this plan or seek what the
communities really want and need."
people living Jakarta-based nongovernmental
organizations also have questioned
in the city. what will happen to squatters once
they are removed. The city has
There is limited considered relocating them to
government-built low-cost housing
living space complexes, but there's resistance
among slum dwellers to move too far
and continual from their current homes. It also
remains to be seen who would fund
urban sprawl.’ the new complexes.
"Slum neighborhoods are built in
certain areas because those areas
Yayat Supriatna, spatial are in close proximity to the source
planner at Trisakti University of their income," Suryono said. "It's
not fair that people live in an area
that floods every year, but it's also
not fair if they are removed."
While the city's plan has stirred
debate among environmental groups
about the ethics of removing people
to open up more green space, it's not
even certain that it will go forward.
"The details of the plan itself are
uncertain," Ubaidillah said. "We
don't know what the plan is, where
the new green spaces will be or who
will be affected. This makes it hard
for us to react, comment and
campaign for a better proposal."
Much of the negative reaction
stems from the lack of certainty
surrounding the city's draft bylaw,
which has been under development
for the past year.
"It's not clear what strategy the
government is taking to achieve
more green space and what these
green spaces will actually be used
for," Suryono said. "And if the
government does build new green
spaces, where will these areas be and
what will happen to the offices or
homes in these areas?"
Ubaidillah argues that the
Jakarta administration should be
looking to develop other options to
create more green space.
"The government should not only
be looking to move people and clear
already occupied spaces to create
more green spaces in Jakarta," he
said. "It should also look at buildings
and areas breaking environmental
rules and pull them in line to meet
the green standards and quality
expected of a green city."
Green spaces. Everyone loves the
concept. But retrofitting this messy
city to make it happen seems certain
to be one of the largest single
challenges ahead.
Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe
Green Buildings
Rethinking Where We Work and Live
More than a trend, eco-friendly
structures can lower emissions
Report Fidelis E Satriastanti
G
“ and materials.
oing green” is
far more than
just a catchy
slogan.
Recycling
waste,
reducing
plastic use
and planting trees are just the
best-known actions people take to
help the environment. Less
frequently considered, however, is
the “green building” — likely
because there are common
misconceptions about the concept.
Actually, the idea of a basic green
building has just three guiding
principles: low cost, low technology
and high impact. So, if you think a
green building, condo or house is
about a lavish lifestyle using flashy
technology, think again.
“A green building is plain and
simple. You don’t have to use
specific brands, just change your
lifestyle and how you use
technology and materials. The
keyword is ‘efficiency,’ ” said
Nirwono Yoga, chairman of the
Indonesian Landscape
Architectural Study Group.
Nirwono, a spatial planning
expert from Trisakti University in
West Jakarta, says the idea is to
conserve water and electricity
because of ever-increasing demand
in big cities such as Jakarta, while
lowering carbon emissions.
Trying to build a more eco-
friendly building is nothing new. The
idea has been steadily growing since
the 1950s when scientists first began
converting solar energy, albeit at a
low level, into electricity. In the 1970s,
green building was a common call in
the environmental movement,
spawned by energy crises and
skyrocketing fuel prices in the United
States and other Western nations.
Back-to-the-earth activists in the
United States at the time sparked a
low-level boom in adobe housing,
rooftop gardening and other natural
approaches to dwellings.
But the idea that big buildings
should be more energy-efficient lay
largely dormant until former US Vice
President Al Gore became the poster
boy in recent years for growing
concern about global warming. Now
it seems that everything has to be
green, including buildings.
“Green building is not a new
thing, however, sometimes it’s
popular and sometimes it’s eclipsed
by some other trend,” Nirwono said.
“Green building needs to be a
lifestyle, not just a trend. If it’s only a
trend, the next question would be:
‘How long can this last?’ ”
For his part, Jakarta Governor
Fauzi Bowo must hope that green is
here to stay. Inheriting a capital city
with a laundry list of problems,
including with water and electricity
supply, the governor embraced the
green building idea in 2008. He has
publicly announced his intention to
make the city’s buildings greener
beginning this year by issuing a
special decree.
“What are green buildings?” he
asked rhetorically during an
interview with the Jakarta Globe at
his office. The answer, he says, are
buildings that are energy-efficient,
recycle their water and have fewer
emissions. New buildings will have
Chill New Idea | How to keep concrete cool in hot climates
Indonesian cement company Holcim says it plans to test a system of cooling pipes embedded in concrete to save energy
Used air
outflow
Radiation
cooling
Air rises at
30cm per
second,
warming
people and
appliances
Dry and cooled
air array
to comply with the forthcoming
decree, Fauzi says, while older
buildings that are renovated must be
retrofitted with green technology.
The Jakarta administration will
provide financial incentives for both
new and old buildings that go green.
“I’m starting with my own
building next door,” he said, referring
to City Hall, located next to his office.
“This is going to set an example for
every building in Jakarta. Starting
next year, we are going to continue
with all school buildings that are
owned by the government.”
Nirwono says Jakarta has no
choice but to start making its
government offices, commercial
buildings and shopping centers
more environmentally friendly,
given chronic power problems and
water shortages.
“It should be done immediately in
Jakarta, because we are talking
about energy efficiency. We have an
energy crisis here with blackouts
everywhere. It is just a matter of time
before we really run out of
electricity,” he said. “In addition, we
also are dealing with a scarcity of
clean water. Who can guarantee that
in the next 20 years, the city can still
provide enough water for all of us?”
By 2020, 35 million people are
expected to be living in Greater
Water cooled concrete slap (21-23 degrees)
controls room temperature based on the
principles of radiation cooling
Fresh and dried air inflow (23-26
degrees) with low speed and
1-2 air exchanges per hour
Green Jakarta 5
‘Just change Jakarta, nearly doubling the demand
for water and electricity.
your lifestyle PT Holcim Indonesia, the local
unit of the international cement
and how you giant, is pushing the idea of
“sustainable buildings” — meaning
use technology they must meet economic targets for
saving energy and water.
“It means that if a green building
is not economical, then it will not
The keyword is sell,” said Alex Buechi, manager for
sustainable construction at Holcim
“efficiency.” ’ Indonesia.
Conserving water and using less
power are noble goals, but the most
Nirwono Yoga, chairman of immediate impact from green
the Indonesian Landscape buildings, whether they be high-rise
Architectural Study Group office towers, apartments or houses,
will be to the owners’ bank accounts.
“People just take these matters
for granted and never see them as
benefits. If you can save Rp 250,000
per month on electricity, over 20
years that’s a huge savings,”
Nirwono said. “That’s one benefit
from saving electricity, not to
mention saving water.”
He says most people never
consider saving money on a monthly
power or water bill as a long-term
investment, noting construction
costs for a green building are usually
only 10 percent more, while
renovating an existing building into a
green one is only half the price of
building a new one. The savings over
the life of a building on energy and
water costs, Nirwono says, can be
substantial and more than offset any
construction premium.
Naning Adiwoso, chairwoman of
the Green Building Council of
Indonesia, also debunks the myth
that pricey technology is at the heart
Insulation
of going green.
“Yes, we need technology, but it
facade
and low-E
does not necessarily mean
[advanced] technology. Most of it is
double
windows
actually available on the market,
such as energy-saving lamps,
with
outside
sun
eco-washers and even eco-toilets,”
Naning said. “We don’t need
2.7 m
protection
complicated technology, because
usually it just goes back to how to
install windows and doors to get
enough light or air, so you don’t need
to turn on the lights during the day.”
She says the real challenge in
promoting green buildings is
changing the mind-set that it will
cost more.
But Nirwono says that when
pricier technology is needed, the
expense is worth it. “These items
should be considered as long-term
investments, for instance, LED
lamps. They are a new technology
SOURCE: PROF BRUNO KELLER - HOLCIM
Continued on Page 6
6 Green Jakarta
The Nuts and Bolts of Setting
Green Building Standards
While green buildings — houses,
skyscrapers, shopping centers — are
touted as a win-win solution for
developers and the environment,
both saving money and preserving
power and water, it’s not as easy as it
sounds. Just ask the Jakarta
administration, which since last year
has been trying to come up with a
better formula to regulate and set
standards for green buildings.
“This is one of the most
complicated regulations ever,
because we need to measure
carefully all the consequences once
this regulation takes effect,” said
Pandita, head of planning and
structure implementation at the
Jakarta Building and Monitoring
Agency (P2B). “We are still struggling
with lots of things, starting from
whether the regulation should be
applied to all kinds of buildings,
whether there will be incentives or
disincentives.” Above all, he said, the
regulation, which should be
completed this year, must not be a
burden for city dwellers.
Last year, the administration
launched a pilot project to renovate
Blok G of City Hall, which should be
finished this year, and will construct
a new provincial legislature building
in Central Jakarta, also this year.
Initially, the green-building
regulation will target city
government offices, as well new
building licenses, Pandita said. “It is
a lot easier to do it on new buildings
than on existing ones, as they’ll just
need to comply with
environmentally friendly
requirements. If they pass, then we
will be able to issue the permit.”
He said the Jakarta Building and
Monitoring Agency usually issued
10,000 to 12,000 new licenses a
year, mostly for residential housing.
From Page 5
that is considerably more expensive,
but it will pay off after 10 years,” he
said. “It can work if people don’t treat
it as just another trend or a source of
pride for using green materials.”
Sithowati Sandrarini, a 42-year-
old economist, says the only major
spending she did for the eco-
conscious renovation of her house in
South Jakarta was on the structure.
“I only paid a lot up front for the
early construction because it needed
to be solid, but none of my [interior]
items were expensive,” she said. “All
of my furniture is from recycled
wood, the doors are from old wood,
the plant pots are old milk cans.
There are no expensive treatments
whatsoever and the plants are here
to filter the air.”
In 2005, Sithowati met architect
Adi Purnomo, who shared the dream
of seeing more eco-friendly houses
in Jakarta and began renovating her
house. “I didn’t understand the
whole green building [concept] at
the start, but I did want a house that
was environmentally friendly,
especially one that could save lots of
While the Jakarta administration
will draft and enforce the green-
building regulations, the Green
Building Council of Indonesia, a
Jakarta-based nonprofit
organization, will be tasked with
issuing green-building certification.
The council was established in
2008 by 50 architecture and
interior-design professionals to
promote environmentally friendly
homes and other buildings in the
country. Bintang A Nugroho,
director of public affairs at the
council, said the certification, known
as Greenship, was voluntary and
would include higher standards
than the coming city regulation.
There are five requirements for
certification as a green building:
smart land use, conserving energy
and water, saving materials,
reducing toxic chemicals and
creating better air quality.
“This is not to be confused with
the government’s licensing, which
will be mandatory. We are dealing
with the status of the building,”
Bintang said, adding that the council
also wants to establish a market for
green-building materials.
Suzy Hutomo, chief executive
officer of Body Shop Indonesia, said
her company was conducting an
audit so it could reduce energy use
at its stores. She said the green-
building regulations would need to
have an educational component.
“Certainly, regulations will
help if it they are well enforced, but I
think that it will be an uphill battle,”
Suzy said.
“If it is not accompanied by
education, it will lead to more
corruption to get around the
standards, as it costs about 10 or 15
percent more to construct [green
buildings].”  Fidelis E Satriastanti
energy and was bright, while still
using sound architectural
principles,” Sithowati said.
Not only did she get the house of
her dreams, but her home was
named Best Residence by the
Indonesian Institute of Architects
in 2005. It’s now a shining example
of what can be done to make a
residential structure green.
The reasons for making our
buildings green don’t stop with
interior decorating or power bills.
Green buildings can also reduce
global emissions dramatically. A 2007
report from the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, the body
tasked with evaluating the risk of
climate change, estimated that
building-related greenhouse gases
account for about 40 percent of the
world’s total emissions, and will
almost double by 2030 to 15.6 billion
tons of CO2 . This is especially true in
congested urban centers like New
York and London, where vehicle
emissions have gone down but
building emissions remain high.
“Our understanding is that
transportation and industry are the
biggest contributors [of greenhouse
What Makes a
Building Green?
A green building, also known as a
sustainable building, is a structure
designed, built, renovated, operated
or reused in an ecological and
resource-efficient manner. Green
buildings are designed to meet
certain objectives such as protecting
occupant health, improving
employee productivity, using
energy, water and other resources
‘I wanted a
house that
could save
lots of energy,
while still
using sound
architectural
principles’
Sithowati Sandrarini,
‘green’ homeowner (right)
Jakarta  Globe Monday, June 21, 2010
more efficiently, and reducing the integrated team of professionals.
overall impact on the environment. The integrated systems approach
A green building may cost more
up front, but saves through lower
ensures that the building is
designed as one system rather than
operating costs over the life of the a collection of stand-alone systems.
building. The green building Some benefits, such as
approach applies a project life cycle improving health, comfort,
cost analysis for determining the productivity and waste
appropriate up-front expenditure. management are not easily
This analytical method calculates quantified. Consequently, they are
costs over the useful life of the asset. not adequately considered in most
These and other cost savings can cost analyses. For this reason,
only be fully realized if incorporated developers are urged to set aside a
at the project’s conceptual design small portion of the building budget
phase with the assistance of an to cover differential costs
Sithowati Sandrarini's
eco-home in South
Jakarta has become a
shining example of
how to build using
recycled and cheap
but energy-efficient
materials.  It won a
Best Residence
award from the
Indonesian Institute
of Architects in 2005.  in 1980. At that time it was not the
JG Photos/
Afriadi Hikmal
gasses], causing global warming, but
instead, the real culprit is actually
buildings,” Nirwono said. “It also
means that making buildings more
environmentally friendly will have a
positive effect on reducing emissions
and global warming.”
One example is Council House 2
in Melbourne, Australia, a city-
owned office complex that opened in
2006 and is considered a showpiece
of urban design that conserves water
and electricity. CO2, as it is known,
has become a model for such efforts
worldwide. “Buildings contribute
CO2 emissions starting from the
[beginning of construction] and also
the materials,” Nirwono said. “For
instance, if you want Italian ceramic
tiles for the floor, you need airplanes
Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe
associated with less tangible green
building benefits or to cover the
cost of researching and analyzing
green building options.
Even with a tight budget, many
green building measures can be
incorporated with minimal or zero
increased up-front costs and they
can yield enormous savings.
Some green building practices:
• Select a site close to mass transit;
• Protect and retain existing
landscaping and natural features;
• Select plants that have low water
to fly them in and airplanes use fossil
fuel. They leave carbon footprints
everywhere.”
Finished buildings emit CO2 from
giant air-conditioning units that
spew heat into the air. In Jakarta,
Holcim Indonesia is promoting a
European-derived cooling
technology that can keep concrete in
warm climates radiating at 23
degrees Celsius. Buechi says the
technology can reduce the energy
required to cool buildings and homes
by 75 percent, and is used worldwide,
including in Egypt, India and China.
“We’d be saving one additional
power plant” if it was widely used
here, Buechi said. Holcim plans to
install the cooling system in a
building in Pondok Indah.
and pesticide needs;
• Use recycled paving materials,
furnishings and mulches;
• Use passive design strategies to
enhance energy performance;
• Provide natural lighting. It has a
positive impact on productivity and
well-being;
• Install high-efficiency lighting
systems with advanced controls;
• Use an energy-efficient cooling
system alongside a thermally
efficient building shell.  in the 1930s in Solo, volunteering
Tips from California Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery
There are also calls for new
buildings to have more mandatory
green space to help absorb carbon
emissions. Nirwono notes that
Jakarta’s green areas comprise only
9.3 percent of the city, while
buildings take up 67 percent.
“Don’t use up all your land area
for a building or house, allocate some
to make a park that would function
as a carbon absorber,” he said.
To cool her house and create a
personal park, Sithowati planted
grass and vegetation on her roof and
balcony. “I did some studying and
found that putting up soil and grass
could reduce the temperature by 1
degree, which is why my house is still
very cool, even during the day. And at
night, it can be chilly,” she said.
Green Hero The Neighborhood Planter
‘Garbage Warrior’ Empowers the People
H
arini Bambang’s eyes
light up as she
recounts some key
phases of a life
spanning nearly eight
decades. There was growing up
as a nurse during Indonesia’s war
of independence in the late
1940s, and then, her most
important battle of all: her fight
for a greener country.
“I call myself the ‘garbage
warrior,’ ” she says, laughing,
“because that’s what I do. I fight
the waste management battle by
talking about issues of waste and
educating people how to help
reduce their garbage.”
As a young girl, Harini never
dreamed of being an
environmental pioneer, advocate
or educator. National and
international recognition were
certainly never an objective either.
All she wanted was for her
house and neighborhood in
Banjarsari, Jakarta, to be as
beautiful and green as Solo.
“My father was a farmer, so I
learned a lot about plantations,
agriculture and farming,” she
says. “He taught me how to
cultivate plants and sow. That’s
how gardening became my
hobby.
“The idea to create a green
neighborhood mostly came from
my childhood memories of my
hometown. I wanted my
neighborhood in Jakarta to look
just like that.”
Everything else, she says, grew
from there.
“I started by gardening and
greening my home, and then I
encouraged my neighbors to
plant flowers at their homes,” she
says. “It was only later that I
started campaigning for a
greener neighborhood.”
Harini, 78, moved to Banjarsari
diverse suburban landscape it is
today — it was a rubber
plantation. With the help of her
late husband, Bambang Wahono,
Some of the fruits of Harini Bambang’s labor. Her home garden and
enthusiasm soon inspired her Banjarsari neighbors.   JG Photo/Annie Dang
Green Jakarta
‘Better waste
practices
start in the
home before
happening in
the community
or the world’
Harini Bambang
who was then the head of the
neighborhood unit, she began
raising awareness about the
importance of greening and
waste management.
“In the beginning,
campaigning for a greener
neighborhood was not easy.
There were many challenges,”
she says. “The biggest challenge
was ‘pro and contra’ people; those
who opposed what I did and
those who supported what I did.
But because I have a strong will, I
just kept going. Without it I would
have given up long ago.”
Even today, as a nationally
recognized waste management
trainer and go-to source for the
media on green issues, Harini
7
says there are still people out
there who might question her
abilities. Some people involved in
similar environmental work
question why she gets so much
attention and recognition.
Harini says people don’t
exactly object, but they question
why journalists seek her out, and
why she is selected to travel to
speak on waste management
issues.
While it may be hard for a
warm soul like Harini to
understand why people feel this
way, the answer is a long list of
achievements.
She has conducted more than
60 environmental workshops in
various districts throughout
Sumatra, Java and even
Kalimantan, and is regularly
invited to give speeches on
regional environmental issues in
the Philippines and Thailand.
In 1996, Harini was named
Unesco’s instructor for a pilot
community waste management
project. The reduce, reuse,
recycle and replant campaign has
since been adopted and
implemented in 25
neighborhoods across the
country.
Her tireless campaigning has
not only earned her a spot on
environmental posters and
bookmarks, but also the 2001
Kalpataru environmental award,
which Harini says was a highlight
of her work.
Despite all the ups and down,
Harini remains unaffected by the
attention, hype and even
controversy that surrounds her.
“I find that if I work with my
heart and there is love in my
heart, I can achieve anything, no
matter how hard the task may be,”
she says.
For Harini, a major of source of
this love comes from the support
and care of her family. Her third
son, Bambang Irwan, works with
her on her campaigns and
programs and accompanies her
on out-of-town and overseas
work trips.
The other source of the love
Harini feels comes from the
affection of strangers. During a
World Health Organization
conference in Bangkok last year,
Harini was approached by a
doctor who embraced her and
thanked her for being an
inspiration.
“I was very touched by that. It
made me cry, especially to see
that I could help people from
other countries that are not my
own,” she says.
“It’s important for people to
learn that waste can be reused in
different ways. Adopting better
waste management practices
starts in the home before it can
happen in the community or in
the world.”  Annie Dang
8 Green Jakarta
Green Water
Or Any Color as Long as It Is Clean
Water may be
a bigger crisis
than global
warming, some
experts believe
Report Joe Cochrane
F
or the past 10 years,
Mahmud has sold
bottles of Aqua and
soft drinks from his
streetside kiosk in
Central Jakarta’s
Menteng district. At
Rp 2,000 (22 cents) a
pop, his profit margin is small, but
it’s a living.
But suppose Mahmud had the
option of selling a different brand of
drinking water that was cheaper for
him to buy from distributors,
allowing him to increase his profit?
Most vendors would jump at the
chance. But what if this new
beverage was made from recycled
sewage water?
“I don’t think people would buy
recycled water like that, so I wouldn’t
sell it,” Mahmud, 46, said. “I think
maybe if they didn’t know where the
water came from, they would drink
it. But once they did, I don’t think
they would want it.”
Not necessarily. Naysayers in
Singapore said the same thing for
decades as the city-state’s
government worked to resolve its
chronic water shortages by recycling
wastewater for commercial and
industrial use. To prove a point about
cleanliness, they also began bottling
recycled water for human
consumption, publicizing the fact
that their “NEWater” product
surpasses the World Health
Organization’s requirements for safe
potable water.
Today there are five plants in
Singapore that produce NEWater,
primarily for industrial and
commercial uses, and it’s targeted to
meet up to 30 percent of Singapore’s
water needs by this year.
And some NEWater is also sold in
mini-marts and grocery stores. One
survey even showed that 98 percent
of Singaporeans have no problem
drinking recycled water, and they’re
certainly not alone.
“If you drink from the taps in
London, it’s already been through
seven stomachs,” said Scott Younger,
president commissioner of Glendale
Partners, a Jakarta-based project
development and consulting firm.
It might sound sick and
disgusting, but recycling wastewater
is nonetheless an ingenious way to
solve water-supply problems, and
more cities around the world are
doing the same thing. One day,
Indonesian cities like Jakarta, which
has its own massive water supply
woes, may have no choice but to
recycle wastewater — even if it’s just
for industrial use or to replenish
toilets and showers in office
buildings, shopping malls and hotels.
In fact, it should already be doing
so, according to experts.
“Water is precious and it’s the
most important [issue] of this
century — forget climate change,”
Younger argued, noting that
Indonesia only reuses 1 percent of its
rainwater. “Reusing water was never
a priority for Jakarta, but in
Singapore and Hong Kong, it’s part of
[public] policy.”
The Jati Luhur reservoir in West
Java is literally Jakarta’s lifeline,
supplying up to 60 percent of the
city’s water needs, but problems with
quality and consistent flow keep
water experts up at night. Another 25
percent or so of the city’s supply
comes from groundwater, but the
Jakarta administration has begun to
phase that out through prohibitive
tariffs to prevent the northern part of
the city from sinking and being
overrun by high tides.
Luckily, there are some officials
outside Jakarta who think creatively
about water conservation in their
communities. Jakarta may want to
look to them as it tries to go green
with its water.
Itoc Tochija, mayor of Cimahi,
West Java, has invited foreign and
Indonesian scientists, development
experts and nongovernmental
organizations to his town of 600,000
to “share solutions to our problems.”
Those problems includes clean water
shortages during the dry season, and
a complete absence of a sewage
system in Cimahi’s slum areas.
Tochija didn’t shy away from
trying something new, approving a
pilot project for a machine that
turns low-to-medium polluted
river water into drinking water. He
also approved the experimental use
of a sewage tank created by a
university in Malang, East Java,
that cleans wastewater before
releasing it into the Cimahi River.
Drink up. In Singapore, recycled
wastewater is sold in stores.
‘Recycling is
good, but the
focus should
be on stopping
pollution in
river water’
Muhtadi Sjadzali, managing
director of Envitech Perkasa
Indonesia is said to reuse only
1 percent of its rainwater.
Jakarta  Globe Monday, June 21, 2010
Today, two giant tanks are at work
in the town’s slum areas.
So why isn’t Jakarta as proactive?
“I don’t know,” Tochija said. “I
think some parts of Jakarta are very
green. But they are rich — they
should at least have communal septic
tanks in [slum areas of] North
Jakarta like we do here.”
Indeed, Jakarta appears to be the
only major city in the world without
a centralized municipal wastewater
treatment plant.
On one level, that’s just fine for
Muhtadi Sjadzali, managing director
of Envitech Perkasa, which builds
wastewater and water treatment
plans for industrial use. The recycled
wastewater that emerges from the
machines built by the company is of a
higher quality than drinking water,
and is used to power boilers that
create electricity for factories.
Envitech Perkasa built a
wastewater treatment plant in
Surabaya for Unilever, which paid for
itself in just three years from the
money saved on electricity costs.
“The driver for recycling in
industry, if you talk to them, is that
they want zero emissions — that’s all
public relations talk,” Sjadzali said.
“It’s really driven by the costs.”
While his company has no
shortage of business, Sjadzali is also a
proud Indonesian and Jakarta
resident, and says he fears the capital
has exceeded its carrying capacity
for water. He said the only feasible
solutions are to stop new
construction, desalinate seawater
into potable water and recycle
existing sewage water.
“Every building in Jakarta should
recycle their sewage water, but what
do you use it for?” Sjadzali said,
estimating that around half of
Jakarta’s buildings have their own
sewage systems but only a fraction of
them recycle. “Psychologically,
people won’t accept drinking water
from sewage.”
Fair point, but given that
wastewater can be turned into
high-quality water, it can easily be
reused in toilets, sinks and showers.
If the Jakarta administration
issued a regulation on mandatory
recycling of water within city office
buildings, Sjadzali said, ultimately
demand could decrease by up to
40 percent.
“But first you have to clean up the
[city’s] rivers,” he said. “Recycling is
good, but the focus should be on
stopping pollution in river water, so
it can be used at least for cleaning
and showering.”
Experts estimate that around 25
percent to 30 percent of river water
that goes into Jakarta’s treatment
plants doesn’t meet official health
and quality standards for untreated
water. And in Cimahi, Mayor
Tochija’s pilot water purifying
machine doesn’t work downriver on
water that flows past the area’s
factories because it’s far too polluted.
In the planned community of
Lippo Karawaci, on the outskirts of
Jakarta, there are no worries about
the quality of the water its saves. All
drainage is contained and directed to
its golf course and water ponds for
storage. The reserve keeps the
underground aquifer replenished
and it comes in handy when there’s a
drought.
All buildings and homes in
Karawaci have piped water and are
hooked up to a central sewage
system, a simple concept with
proper planning that must seem
alien to Jakarta. Discharged waste is
Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe
treated in a central sewage
treatment plant, and the cleaned
water is diverted back to the six
water ponds scattered around the
community or used for irrigation.
It’s been like this for 15 years.
“This is not rocket science,” said
Wahyudi Hadinata, general manager
of Lippo Karawaci. “This concept of a
water pond is just something new for
the government — they can’t
understand it.”
To be fair, the present Jakarta
administration didn’t start with
1,000 hectares of open land like
Lippo did in the early 1990s. But city
officials shouldn’t have any problem
understanding that water is an
expensive commodity, not to
mention the fact that the citywide
supply is inconsistent.
Wahyudi suggested a regulation
mandating that all buildings — or at
least new buildings — treat and reuse
sewage water, and collect, treat and
use rainwater.
A tall, cool glass
of water with extra
swizzle might
be great on a hot
afternoon, but
Jakartans can’t
take it for granted.
Poor re-treatment
facilities, lack of a
consistent supply
and heavy
pollution all
plague the
city’s water.
“In the long run, it will be cheaper
than the commercial water rate,” he
said, adding that to kick-start the
process, the city could “raise the
water rates. Give them an incentive
to change.”
If most Jakartans think like
Sanyoto, a 42-year-old private driver,
then the recycled water idea could
catch on.
“I think if it has been processed
correctly, I wouldn’t mind,” he said.
“I mean, that’s what water from the
[city water utilities] is; it’s source
comes from the Ciliwung River,
which is polluted. But because it has
been processed, it’s clean, so it’s OK.”
OK to use and even reuse for
commercial buildings and industry,
but for drinking? That’s going to
take some time.
“I can’t imagine drinking sewage
water — no way,” said Siti, a
17-year-old baby sitter in Jakarta. “I
can’t stand the mental image, even if
it is clean.”
Green Hero The Hygiene Evangelist
One Man’s Journey: Software to Sanitation
T
he field of sanitation,
hygiene and health
management may not
be the world’s sexiest,
but as head of a
neighborhood unit in North
Petojo, Central Jakarta, Irwansyah
has made a career out of it. It’s a
job that the 44-year-old says is as
far-removed as possible from his
educational background in
computer management.
“I don’t know why I decided to
work on environmental issues or
what inspired me, but I enjoy it,”
he says. “It’s a whole different
world to computers.”
But a world no less fulfilling, he
points out. Irwansyah has rubbed
shoulders with President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, discussed
drainage and sewage with the
mayor of Central Jakarta and
taken US Sectary of State Hillary
Clinton on a tour of North Petojo’s
communal toilet facilities during
her visit in February 2009.
For Irwansyah, the journey to
becoming an environmentalist
was more about helping his
community than anything else.
“Helping my neighborhood
has always been something I hold
onto, an ideal, and it has been a
great and rewarding experience
to help and educate the people
about health,” he says.
Last year, Irwansyah received
the country’s highest
acknowledgement for
environmental work, the
Kalpataru, an award given by the
State Ministry for the Environment
to people who have dedicated
their lives to environmental issues.
“Receiving the award of course
was the highest honor I could
receive. It gives me a lot of pride
and makes me proud that the
government appreciates my
work,” Irwansyah says.
But despite the hype and
prominence that goes with
receiving such a distinction,
Irwansyah says his feet are firmly
planted on the ground.
“Yes, it was an honor, but I am
more concerned about
North Petojo’s innovative toilet facilities turn feces into usable biogas,
cutting down on the waste that enters the river.  JG Photos/Annie Dang
‘Poor
sanitation
and hygiene
are caused by
habits that are
passed down’
Irwansyah, neighborhood
unit head in Central Jakarta
continuing to try to change the
behavior of people; changing
their behavior from having bad
habits to ‘half-good’ habits,” he
says. “I use the phrase ‘half-good’
because there are still a lot of
issues that need attention and
need to be worked on. We still
have a lot to improve on
sanitation and hygiene.”
Poor sanitation causes at least
120 million cases of disease and
50,000 premature deaths in the
country every year, according to
the World Bank. Diarrhea-related
diseases are the most common,
with 89 million cases nationwide
annually, followed by skin
disorders and trachoma, a
Green Jakarta 9
contagious bacterial conjunctivitis
that can lead to blindness.
As a neighborhood head,
Irwansyah oversees a number of
green activities in North Petojo, a
riverside slum of 3,321 people.
These include sanitation
improvement training projects,
the quarterly cleaning of the
Krukut River and health
programs for pregnant women
and children under 5.
While the neighborhood has
received a number of green
awards, it is most recognized for a
pilot sanitation system project,
which includes special toilet
facilities that use buffer reactivity
to turn feces into usable biogas.
Buffer reactivity technology
has been used to reduce the
amount of domestic and
industrial waste entering the city’s
waterways and improve overall
water quality in Jakarta’s rivers.
“By having buffer reactors, we
can turn domestic waste from
toilets into fuel for the
community kitchen and use the
chambers within the reactors to
treat wastewater for E coli
bacteria or other dangerous
bugs before it goes into the river,”
Irwansyah says. “This will help to
improve sanitation and stop the
spread of disease.”
The concept and technology is
not only innovative, it has proven
to be a hit with the local
community. Irwansyah attributes
this to motivating the community
to not only get behind the project,
but also to participate in building
the infrastructure for the system.
He says he hopes this model of
community motivation will be
adopted and applied in other
areas of Indonesia and Asia.
“The important thing is that
there needs to be a motivator and
the people in the community
must be willing to make that
change,” he says. “Poor sanitation
and hygiene are caused by habits
that are passed down from
generation to generation. So
unless people are willing to
change, it will be hard for us to
make them change.”
This new approach even
caught Clinton’s attention.
“I got a call from the US
Embassy in Jakarta telling me
that this big-shot American
would be coming, but they didn’t
say who,” he says. “I told them it
must be Hillary Clinton. The
embassy staff were shocked. I
told them I saw on Metro TV that
she was coming to Indonesia.”
For his next act, Irwansyah
says he hopes North Petojo will
play host to US President Barack
Obama if and when he makes his
oft-delayed state visit to
Indonesia. Now that he is used to
rubbing shoulders with
politicians, Irwansyah will be
more than ready to talk sewers
and toilets with him.  Annie Dang
10 Green Jakarta Jakarta  Globe Monday, June 21, 2010 Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe Green Jakarta 11

Green Wheels Driving Pollution Away With a Hybrid Car and Fuel-Efficient Practices
What Is a Hybrid Car, Exactly?
A hybrid car is simply a car that runs
on more than one type of fuel. Most
run on gasoline and batteries, but
some on gasoline and ethanol.
What about disadvantages? First,
modern hybrids are not cheap, and
batteries may need replacing after
250,000 kilometers.
The batteries are also heavy,
Plan your journeys better. Save
fuel by planning short journeys to
minimize traffic, traffic lights and
lengthy one-way systems. Think
about putting off a trip if you know

Why Are Cleaner Cars Still Elusive in Jakarta?

Punitive tax rules, poor fuel country’s infrastructure might not
be ready to accommodate them.
quality and simple inertia “Hybrid cars use a special fuel
called pertaDEX. There used to be
keep Jakarta’s skies smoggy several gas stations here that sold it,
but then it decreased to only three.
Now it’s only sold in jerrycans. The
Report Dewi Kurniawati stations think, ‘Why bother building
The most common type of
hybrid, known as a “parallel” hybrid,
has the transmission powered by
both an electric engine and an
internal combustion engine.
Some — the “full” hybrids — can
run on just batteries, just gasoline or
a combination of both, for example
the Toyota Prius or Nissan Altima.
Battery life is very limited.
There are also “series” hybrids, for
example the Honda Civic, where the
electric part of the motor merely
serves to complement and augment
the gasoline engine.
With this type of engine real
savings in fuel use can be made, but
city traffic. The present generation of
hybrids are not plug-ins — the
batteries are recharged by the
brakes and when the gasoline
engine is in use.
the field for efficiency, so far.
Series hybrids still deliver some
real gains; gasoline goes further,
and emissions of carbon gases and
nitrous oxides are much reduced.
which adds to the overall weight of
the cars, which may be a
disadvantage to some people.
Remember also that hybrids can
leave a larger carbon footprint from
their manufacture because of the
extra components that are needed
for these types of vehicles — the twin
drive-trains, for example.
Can’t Afford a Hybrid?
Learn Fuel Efficiency Instead.
One of the very best ways to
increase fuel economy is to drive
smoothly and gently: When moving
off, change up through the gears as
quickly as possible so that your
traffic will be heavy. And always try
to take care of multiple errands on
one journey, instead of having to
make individual trips for everything.
Don’t idle! If stopping for more
than a moment or two or stuck in a
queue, cut the engine where safe.
Air-conditioning significantly
adds to fuel consumption. Don’t
use it needlessly — but then the
drag caused by having all your
windows open increases fuel
consumption as much or more
than air-conditioning.
Keep your car clean. It’s hard to
believe, but dirt increases wind
resistance. Studies have shown that

A
s the Toyota
Motor Corp.
coped this year
with a global
recall of more
than 8.5 million
vehicles for
dangerous
defects — including its popular
hybrid Prius model — its executives
may have taken some solace in
knowing they wouldn’t have to
worry about returns of the gas-
electric car in Indonesia. They are as
rare as a Javanese rhino here.
Prius, the first mass-produced
hybrid vehicle, first went on sale in
Japan in 1997 and was introduced
worldwide four years later. Hybrid
cars combine a conventional
internal-combustion engine with an
electric propulsion system to
achieve better fuel efficiency.
The Prius has been ranked as
among the cleanest vehicles sold in
the United States based on smog
forming and toxic emissions, and is
currently available in more than 40
countries and regions. Nearly 2
million people worldwide drive this
environmentally friendly sedan.
But not, of course, in Indonesia.
Despite its global popularity and
fuel efficiency, there are only 13
Prius vehicles on the country’s
streets, eight of them in Jakarta.
Another 10 Toyota-produced Lexus
hybrid vehicles are on order. That’s a
sad showing for a country that ranks
eighth in car sales in Asia.
The obvious question is: Why are
there so few hybrid cars in Jakarta,
given that vehicle emissions here
account for 70 percent of total
pollution?
“There is very little demand for
the Prius in this country. It’s a pricey
car,” said Achmad Rizal, chief of
marketing communications for
Toyota in Indonesia.
In Japan or the United States, a
Prius costs about Rp 300 million
($32,400), but in Indonesia the price
tag is nearly double.
“We don’t have a choice — the
government imposes a high tax on
imported cars, and that includes the
Prius,” Achmad said.
Since 2006, he said, Toyota along
with the Indonesian Automotive
Industries Association (Gaikindo)
has pleaded with the central
government to give special
incentives in the form of tax
reductions to hybrid-vehicle buyers.
If hybrids such as the Prius become
more affordable, industry officials
reckon, it could reduce gasoline
consumption and vehicle emissions
in Indonesian cities, Jakarta the
largest among them.
The government thus far has
been unmoved by the logic.
“Those hybrid cars fall in the
category of luxury goods,” said Evy
Suhartantyo, spokesman for the
Directorate General of Customs. “I
agree on the environment
argument, but if we lower the tax,
please tell me who will put money in
our country’s pocket?”
Evy did concede that the
government is at least considering
reducing taxes on imported hybrid
vehicles, but will keep them firmly
in place for other luxury cars.
“We have considered it, and
might announce something soon
enough,” Evy said.
However, industry officials say it
should’ve been done long ago, given
the environmental and economic
benefits, which have prompted
A Transjakarta bus waiting to fill up with compressed natural gas.  its mind on the luxury tax on
JG Photo/ Afriadi Hikmal
Weird wheels: The new Toyota Plug-In Hybrid’s battery pack. The Prius is popular
worldwide, but high import taxes keep it a rarity in Indonesia.  Bloomberg Photo
‘The Indonesian many other countries from North
America to Europe to Japan to give
government tax breaks for hybrids.
“The Indonesian government
should give should give incentives to hybrid car
owners, just like elsewhere,” said
incentives to Freddy Sutrisno, secretary general
of Gaikindo. “More than 70 percent
hybrid car of Indonesians can only afford to
buy cars within a price range of a
owners, just maximum of Rp 200 million, and
that’s exactly why we won’t see too
like elsewhere’ many hybrid cars on the streets.
People simply can’t afford it.”
Price is just one thing that’s
Freddy Sutrisno, Indonesian keeping Jakarta from becoming a
Automotive Industry greener city — in India, the Reva
Association electric car sells for as little as
$6,000 and there is nothing
comparable here.
Another is that of the 500,000
new cars sold annually in Indonesia,
more than 30 percent are in the
capital, meaning more emissions
each year and more cars idling on
Jakarta’s congested roads.
The Mekatronic and Electric
Power Research Center in Bandung,
and Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada
University have both unveiled
Indonesian prototype gas-electric
hybrid cars, but unless investors
come forward, they may never be
seen on the street. Industry minister
MS Hidayat has said that
representatives of Japan’s four
major automobile producers have all
expressed interest in producing
low-cost, eco-friendly vehicles here
for as little as Rp 70 million each but
to date no deal has been signed.
Even if the government changes
imported hybrids, Freddy said, the
an expensive pump specially for you cannot travel on battery power Flex-fuel hybrids are another Obviously, with all this fuel vehicle’s revs are kept low. a clean car can make a significant
pertaDEX when only a few alone. The gasoline engine powers a coming development. They allow efficiency, hybrids are cheaper to Anticipate bends and halts so difference over the course of a year.
[motorists] buy it?’ ” he said. generator, which supplies electricity flexibility to use different fuel run, but they are more expensive to that you reduce the need for sudden It is worth making sure that your
“I think we have a long way to go to run the motor. sources — ethanol, biodiesel and buy. Over a lifetime’s use they braking, letting the car’s friction car is at least well maintained, which
before seeing hybrid cars cruising Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles gasoline as required or as available. should give real fuel economy — against the road do most of the will help in the quest for increasing
on our streets because it’s too (PHEVs) are hybrids that are simply The main advantage is that even up to 60 miles per gallon, and slowing for you. Try to work out your fuel economy. Filters should be
complicated. For now, the plugged in to an electrical socket to hybrids are cleaner than cars that the figure is rising as technological car’s optimum cruising speed. Most changed regularly, the right oil used,
government should just concentrate charge them, like any rechargeable run on gasoline or diesel. When full advances are made. cars will lose efficiency after about engine tuned, fan belt kept tight,
on upgrading emission standards appliance. This allows the user to hybrids are being driven on the Hybrid car batteries, usually 85 kilometers per hour. Most of all, tires correctly inflated and wheel
for the country, since we are spend more time on battery power battery, there are zero significant nickel-metal hybrids, are also just get into the habit of not putting alignment and balance checked. 
currently still adopting the Euro 2 alone, particularly for short runs in emissions. The Toyota Prius leads completely recyclable. your foot down on the accelerator. Tips courtesy of GreenFacts.com
standard.”
Currently, emissions of nitrogen
oxides, total hydrocarbons,
non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide and particulate matter Corporate Social Responsibility Profile ( Advertorial)
are regulated for most vehicle types.
European Union emission standards
define the acceptable limits for
exhaust emissions of new vehicles
sold in EU member states. The
emission standards are defined by
five categories, each with
increasingly stringent standards.
These standards are adopted
worldwide, including in Indonesia.
While EU members states
currently impose the highest, Euro
5, and some Asian nations are
already using the Euro 4 standard,
Indonesia is stuck on Euro 2. As a
result, cars in Indonesia produce
twice as much carbon monoxide as
vehicles in some neighboring
countries.
“In Indonesia, gas stations sell
gasoline that has a high sulfur
content. Even too high for the Euro 2
standard,” Freddy said.
Under Euro 2, sulfur in gasoline
should not exceed more than 500
parts per million (ppm) per liter. In
Indonesia, however, most stations
sells gasoline that contains up to
3,500 ppm per liter. Higher sulfur
content results in higher emissions
in the form of sulfur dioxide, which
can cause health problems in
humans. By comparison, Japan has
adopted the Euro 4 standard, and its
gasoline has a sulfur content of only
10 ppm per liter.
Given Indonesia’s pollution woes,
some argue that it makes more sense
to introduce vehicles here that run
on compressed natural gas (CNG)
instead of hybrid cars.
“The government should think
about giving more subsidies for CNG
Continued on Page 12
12 Green Jakarta
From Page 10
than regular fuel, like they have in
the past,” said Ridwan Panjaitan,
head of the law enforcement
division at the Jakarta
Environmental Management Board.
“Emissions from vehicles contribute
70 percent of total [air] pollution,
and since most people can’t afford to
buy hybrid cars, it’s a cheaper option
to convert from fuel to CNG.”
Compressed natural gas is a
fossil-fuel substitute for gasoline,
diesel, and propane fuel.
Compressed and largely made from
methane, it does produce
greenhouse gases, but it’s cleaner
than other fuels. It is increasingly
common in public vehicles in Asia
that have had their engines
converted for CNG use.
In Jakarta, the busway’s buses
run on CNG, and have ever since the
system began operations in 2005. In
2008, then-vice president Jusuf
Kalla said provincial governments
would soon be required to convert
all public buses and taxis to CNG as
part of a drive for cleaner energy.
The program appears, however, to
have foundered.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of
gasoline-powered public buses
spew out choking black smoke. And
a plan to replace the city’s fleet of
noisy, dirty three-wheeled bajaj
with new CNG-fueled models also
ran afoul of the luxury tax last year
and it is unclear whether the new
bajaj will prevail.
“If we encourage public buses
and private cars to convert to CNG,
we would witness a significant
reduction in emissions,” said
Ridwan from the environmental
management board, noting that
converter kits only cost Rp 10
million. “After that, we mustn’t
forget to add more CNG stations on
the streets so people have easy
access.” Currently, there are only
seven CNG stations in Jakarta.
If the government goes down the
route of hybrid cars such as the Prius
to fight pollution, analysts said, it
must give import tax exemptions or
reductions, in addition to reducing
the sulphur content of gasoline and
having stricter emissions checks.
It’s not an easy task. One city
official said when asked about
current emission checks that bus
operators routinely “rent”
equipment to help pass the city-
regulated emission test. “After they
pass, they give the equipment back.
It’s a business and very hard to stop,”
said the official.
Why Emissions Testing Is Such a Dirty Business
A
gus Santosa was
surprised to see a new
hologram sticker in the
corner of his car’s front
windshield after he
went for a general inspection at his
local garage.
“Apparently they conducted an
emissions test on my car,” he said,
somewhat puzzled because he
hadn’t asked for one.
Not that Santosa was
complaining: the test was quick,
cheap and best of all, his car passed.
“Good, so now I know that my
car is in good condition,” he said,
smiling. “I heard that the Jakarta
administration won’t let cars that
don’t have this sticker onto the
main streets.”
Well, at least in theory. In 2005,
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso issued a
regulation aimed at curbing air
pollution in the capital, which
requires all vehicles to undergo a
yearly emissions test. The goal is to
reduce the amounts of pollutants
from vehicles: presumably there
are excessive levels, though
officials don’t have the equipment
necessary to measure total
citywide emissions.
To support this program, 300
garages across Jakarta were
appointed as official emissions
testing centers. The test takes less
than 30 minutes, and costs about
Rp 56,000 ($6). The alternative for
vehicle owners is up to six months
in prison or a Rp 50 million fine.
“Although on paper the
penalty is harsh, I can’t say the
program has worked. Very
few people are abiding by
the regulation,” said
Ridwan Panjaitan,
head of the law
enforcement
division at the
Jakarta Environmental
Management Board.
He says city police are not
authorized to ticket motorists
whose vehicles don’t have an
emissions sticker because the
gubernatorial regulation conflicts
with the Criminal Code on
punishments for offenders.
Jakarta  Globe Monday, June 21, 2010
“For any crime
involving more than
three months jail,
you have to go
through a long
process as required
by the Criminal Code,”
Ridwan said.
This means the Jakarta
administration would have to file
legal cases against offenders with
the city police, he says, which
would involve the district attorney,
lawyers, judges and an endless
string of trials. “You can see that
it’s just too complicated,” he said.
Because it’s also difficult to go
back and revise the existing
gubernatorial regulation, the
Jakarta administration is
considering a plan to entice
people by offering occasional
free emissions tests.
“It’s still in the planning stage,”
Ridwan said.
The Jakarta Environmental
Management Board has attempted
to be proactive, touting the
benefits of emissions testing.
“If they check their vehicles
regularly, the vehicles will always be
in good condition, which will result
in less pollution in the city, and they
will also save fuel,” Ridwan said.
Last year, the board began
issuing warnings about public
places in Jakarta that require
vehicles to have an emissions
sticker to enter or park. There are
now 34 locations across the city
enforcing this rule, including the
parking area around the National
Monument (Monas), shopping
malls and government offices.
However, numerous problems
remain. Ridwan says that while it’s
easier to get private vehicle owners
to get an emissions test because
they have a “sense of belonging”
Officials checking
car exhausts with
an emissions
test. Below,
the hologram
emissions sticker. 
EPA, JG Photos
toward their cars, that sentiment is
not shared by public bus drivers
toward their vehicles.
“Public buses are regularly
checked by the Jakarta
Transportation Agency and are
often declared OK. However, when
we perform impromptu checks on
the road, almost 90 percent of
them fail,” Ridwan said, declining
to comment on whether there was
corruption involved in the
emissions testing of public buses.
According to Riza Hasyim,
deputy chief of the transportation
agency, emissions are just one of
nine items tested on public buses.
“We check those buses every
six months, and there are sanctions
if they fail to pass any of those nine
items,” he said.
Riza declined to comment on
claims by the Jakarta
Environmental Management Board
that 90 percent of public buses
failed roadside emissions tests, only
saying that “we perform our checks
according to our standards.”
But there are ways around the
tests it, as the Jakarta Globe learned
from Governor Fauzi Bowo himself.
He said a private auto service
station next door to the emissions
and inspection center rented out
parts by the hour so buses,
Metro-Minis and Kopajas could
pass inspection.  Dewi Kurniawati
Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe Green Jakarta 13
Green Garbage
How to Dump Our Dirty, Throwaway Culture
Tackling one of
Jakarta’s most
mountainous
problems
Report Joe Cochrane
& Matthew Theunissen
T
he garbage dump
landslide that
flattened dozens of
homes in the town
of Cimahi, West
Java, on Feb. 20,
2005, killing 147
people, still weighs
heavily on the minds of residents.
Every year, mourners gather at the
now-closed dump site, which used
to handle waste from the nearby
provincial capital, Bandung, to
dutifully commemorate the
disaster’s anniversary.
While survivors still complain
that the dump hasn’t been
rehabilitated for other economic or
community uses, others say the
disaster has in its own way spurred
Cimahi to take measures to protect
its future. The Bantar Gebang landfill is already 30 percent beyond capacity, and that will only get worse as Jakarta continues to grow and produce more waste.  JG Photo
Mayor Itoc Tochija notes that
the city of 600,000 now recycles haul solid waste to the city’s 1,200 Meanwhile, private trash Bantar Gebang landfill in Bekasi, collection, transportation and
more than 30 percent of its organic drop-off stations, along the way collectors sometimes just dump the for example, is already operating at disposal methods in particular fall
waste, rather than throwing it into remixing recyclable and non- garbage wherever they can to save 30 percent beyond its capacity, and short of meeting standards set by
a temporary landfill. recyclable materials previously on gasoline costs to get to the as the capital’s population grows the Kyoto Protocol.
“This [accident] was an separated by private households drop-off centers, which helps and its business and industrial That said, each of these problem
inspiration for us,” he said, and businesses. explain why up to 20 percent of the sectors expand, there will only be areas has presented an opportunity
claiming that by 2012 the city would Staff members at the drop-off 6,250 tons of daily waste produced more solid waste to deal with. for private sector investors who are
be recycling 100 percent of its stations then throw the whole lot by the city ends up clogging its Risyana Sukarma, an now trying to cash in on the city’s
organic waste into commercial into trucks bound for the city’s two rivers, canals and waterways. environmental consultant at the untapped “urban mines.” One such
fertilizer for farming and briquets landfills, where any recycling that Given the scope of Jakarta’s World Bank, says Jakarta simply company is PT Godang Tua Jaya,
to fire the machinery of nearby takes place is left to scavengers in garbage problems, it’s time to start lacks the infrastructure to deal which manages Bantar Gebang and
factories. Bekasi and Tangerang. thinking outside the box. The with its trash effectively, and its is building three intermediate
Cimahi learned its lesson with treatment facilities on site.
garbage the hard way, and it’s a
lesson that Jakarta might want to
‘We can have The company acted after a plan
by the Jakarta administration
heed. According to Tochija, staff
members working at Cimahi’s
a win-win dating back to 1997 to build an
intermediate treatment facility in
garbage drop-off centers separate
all organic waste — and even some
situation: the each of the city’s five municipalities
to ease pressure on Bantar Gebang
non-organic waste such as bottles
— for recycling, while the
people and the fell apart due to public opposition.
So Godang Tua Jaya is filling the
remaining trash is hauled by truck
to the landfill.
government void by building one facility to turn
organic waste into compost, a
As a result, the city is forced to
deal with a lot less garbage.
get a cleaner second to recycle glass, plastic and
cardboard, as well as a power plant
This type of effort explains why
Cimahi in 2009 won an Adipura
city, and the fuelled by methane gas. The plant
will eventually produce 26
Award, which recognizes the
country’s top 100 green cities.
private sector megawatts of power, but will
initially churn out two megawatts
Jakarta’s waste management
system is the polar opposite of what
makes money’ after it opens this month.
Godang Tua Jaya will sell the
is happening in Cimahi. In the The administration has made efforts to encourage recycling, but most of the
capital, private garbage collectors work is being carried out by private companies.  Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus Douglas Manurun Continued on Page 14
14 Green Jakarta
Making
A World of
Difference
Down in
The Dumps
It’s not just companies that have
learned how to make money from
Jakarta’s garbage.
A curious but determined
Jakarta cult commonly known as
“garbage scavengers” have been
doing it for decades.
There are an estimated
400,000 trash pickers scouring
the city’s garbage dumps and the
trash bins and dumpsters of
buildings, shopping malls and
private residences collecting
recyclable plastics, paper, glass
and metals — and anything else
that can be resold.
While the work is not
encouraged by nongovernmental
organizations or the Jakarta
administration, it is one of the city’s
few reliable recycling systems. But
far from being respected,
scavengers work in filthy,
sometimes dangerous, conditions,
are poorly paid, stigmatized and
seen as a public eyesore.
Most trash pickers don’t have
official Jakarta ID cards so are
unable to find other types of
employment. Their lives depend on
collecting enough resalable
garbage each day. There’s a
scavenger society within the city’s
two landfills, while solitary trash
pickers are seen sifting through
residential garbage bins or pulling
makeshift wooden carts holding
their booty.
A scavenger’s typical day begins
so early that by the time most of
Jakarta is awake its garbage bins
have already been picked clean of
valuable refuse.
Pak Udin, a trash picker in
Cirendeu, South Jakarta, sets off at
4 a.m. each day with his cart. He and
about 70 others from his
neighborhood get daily briefings
from the leader of their “trash
pickers collective,” who is a waste
trader, on what materials they
should keep an eye out for.
One recent morning, Udin
looked specifically for plastic Aqua
mineral water bottles, but if he finds
other valuable refuse, such as
copper, he’ll grab it as well. Once his
cart is full, he takes his booty back
to his boss, who sells it to
manufacturing companies.
Although the work is hard and
he’s looked down upon, Udin says
he earns better money than when
he worked as a laborer on
construction sites.
“There is always income as a
trash picker — there is no shortage
of trash in this city,” he says.
He has been working for his boss
for more than 30 years and is happy
with the arrangement. However,
given that scavenging is an informal
Scavengers work in filthy and often dangerous conditions. They are paid a pittance and are often seen as a blight on society.
But for all their negative image, they provide one of the city’s few reliable recycling systems.  JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno
‘There is always job, workers are vulnerable to
exploitation, such as being
income as a underpaid for what they collect.
In her noted 1993 paper,
trash picker “Working With Waste Pickers: Asian
Approaches to Urban Solid Waste
— there is no Management,” Christine Furedy, an
associate professor at York
shortage University in Toronto, argued that
governments should formalize the
of trash in scavenger industry.
“Waste pickers usually have no
this city’ concept of the pivotal role they play
in resource recovery,” she said.
XSProject, a Jakarta-based
Pak Udin, trash picker
international nonprofit
organization, supports the city’s
trash pickers by paying them above
average for what they collect. The
trash is then converted into
Jakarta  Globe Monday, June 21, 2010
handmade goods including stylish
bags and sold globally through
overseas buyers.
Retno Hapsari, from the
organization, says its ultimate goal
is to stop scavenging and get
people into formal work. But she
acknowledges that this won’t
happen until poverty falls and
informal-sector workers have
better job prospects.
Ten percent of the money
generated from XSProject products
goes toward the schooling of the
children of scavengers, in the hope
they won’t become trash pickers.
“It is not realistic just to try and
make them get other jobs, because
they often do not have a choice,”
Retno says.  Matthew Theunissen
Continued from Page 13
power back to the city, completing a
full circle of shared responsibility
for solid waste. More important, it
is estimated that the three new
facilities will eventually reduce the
amount of waste being dumped
into the Bantar Gebang landfill by
2,000 tons per day by 2023.
“The government can’t work by
itself, and private companies can’t
work by themselves,” said Douglas
Manurun, Godang Tua Jaya’s
managing director. “Together, we
can have a win-win situation: the
people and the government get a
cleaner city, and the private sector
makes money.”
Godang Tua Jaya has teamed up
with another private company,
PT Navigat Organic Energy, to
invest Rp 600 billion ($66 million)
to build the three facilities, which
they expect to bring a high return.
“If it wasn’t profitable for us, then
we wouldn’t do it,” Manurun said.
Another private company
making greenbacks by making
Jakarta more green is Geocycle, a
branch of international cement
producer Holcim.
Geocycle, which produces about
5.5 million tons of cement in
Indonesia annually, collects and
then incinerates about 20,000 tons
of solid waste a month as part of its
cement-making process. The waste
is burned in a kiln at temperatures
of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius and
reduced to ash, which is then
blended into its cement mixture.
This process neither produces
residue nor does it degrade the
quality of the cement whatsoever,
says Vincent Aloysius, manager of
Geocycle Indonesia.
The company is also looking at
using human waste in the making
of its cement, a process that is
already being done at its plants in
Europe, Aloysius says.
The World Bank’s Sukarma says
environmentally sound companies
like Geocycle are beginning to have
a noticeable impact on the city’s
waste problems, but they alone
aren’t the solution.
Industrial waste, he says, only
accounts for about 20 percent of
Jakarta’s total, with the vast
majority coming from household
garbage. Ultimately, the key to
tackling Jakarta’s solid waste
problems is to educate the
population about sustainable waste
management, he says.
But creativity should count for
something.
Monday, June 21, 2010 Jakarta  Globe
Green Hero The Recycling Man
Turning the City’s Trash Into Treasure
I
n the suburbs of South Jakarta,
everyone knows Salam as the
“Recycling Man.” It’s not
because he manages Kedai
Daur Ulang, one of only a
handful of recycling shops in the
capital, but because he has a
talent for collecting old cardboard
boxes and unwanted banana
trees and turning them into
decorative paper.
“It’s a very funny story,” Salam
says, sitting at his shop in
Mampang Prapatan, his desk
littered with half-finished recycled
gift boxes.
Nearly 25 years ago, he
approached office building
managers and plantation owners
about taking old boxes and
banana trees off their hands, “but
as word caught on and other
people found out that I was
collecting waste materials, I
started to receive banana trees
and paper garbage from many
different people,” he says.
Thanks to word of mouth,
Salam, 43, now receives deliveries
from people across the city.
“Now when people think of
paper garbage or banana trees,
they think of me. They say, ‘Oh, we
must send it to the recycle shop
because Salam will need this to
make paper,’ ” he says, laughing.
But creating recycled paper is
only half the story, as the walls of
Salam’s shop clearly show. They
are decorated with awards,
photographs and memorabilia
from a life that is a little more than
ordinary, and about much more
than just reusing paper.
“This is a photo of me
protesting with Greenpeace,” he
says, pointing to a small framed
photograph of a young Salam,
barely recognizable at a glance.
He can’t recall the year, but the
oversized glasses, colorful jackets
and big hair scream mid-80s.
“We were in New York
protesting about waste
management. It was during the
Green movement,” he says.
Salam started his
Salam demonstrating how the blended waste materials are placed onto
drying trays to make the sheets of recycled paper.  JG Photos/Annie Dang
‘My vision
is not just to
make and sell
recycled
paper, but
to promote
recycling’
Salam, Kedai Daur
Ulang owner
environmental campaigning in
1983 with the Indonesian Forum
for the Environment (Walhi). He
worked on various green issues
and traveled as far afield as New
York and Berlin to increase global
awareness of waste
management. In 1985, Salam
began campaigning about
recycling, and the following year
he set up the recycling shop in
Mampang Prapatan along with
Walhi. He now manages the
operation by himself.
Recycling soon became his
calling, and Salam left Walhi in
1988 to focus on his own work.
The shop became his
production base and he began
experimenting with making
15
Have You Missed Any
Of Our Other Special
Issues on Jakarta?
Why does
Jakarta's Old
paper from recycled cardboard
Town seem to
waste and banana trees, a process
he said took two years to perfect. be crumbling
The process itself sounds a bit
like baking a cake. before our
“We collect the waste and then eyes? How
we blend it using a blender. We
then pour the mixture into large
slow planning,
tubs, and using a wooden frame red tape and
we filter and lay out each sheet inertia is
one at a time,” Salam says.
“We try to make 200 pages a jeopardizing
day, but because we do the the capital's
process by hand it can take a long
time — especially when making biggest
colored paper.” historical
Kedai Daur Ulang sells its
recycled products to individuals
legacy.
and businesses across the
country, particularly bookstores.
Some of the profits are used to
hold recycling workshops and
training programs at schools. Sewage,
“Many people come to buy
the paper, but my vision is not garbage, poor
just to make and sell recycled
paper, but to campaign about
clean water
supply and
recycling,” Salam says, “because
recycling is one way of managing flooding all
waste in Indonesia.”
Jakarta produces about 6,250
make the lives
tons of waste a day, according to
the city’s Public Works Agency.
of millions in
Jakarta a
And nearly 20 percent of that
garbage ends up in local rivers, misery and put
canals and waterways. them at risk of
So, Salam says, educating
communities — especially young
disease. What
people — about waste can be done?
management and getting them
involved in recycling will help to
reduce the city’s waste problems.
For Salam and his team,
recycling is not just a community
activity, but a family affair.
“After we do school visits,
some of the children come to help
make recycled paper at the shop,”
The city's
he says, pointing to a young boy transportation
busy folding paper at the shop. problems are
“My family is also involved in my
work. My wife and children come evident to
along to training sessions and on every visitor.
school visits to discuss recycling
with the children and to help give But how bad is
out information about recycling.” the problem
Salam acknowledges that
promoting recycling has not been
really? Is the
an easy task. “When I first started gridlock
campaigning on environmental
issues in the 1980s, there were a
necessary? Is
anyone even
lot of objections and disinterest
from the government and also the working on a
public,” he says.
“People need to understand solution?
and see that waste is not just
waste, but a collection of material
that has been used,” he adds. “It’s
important that people in Jakarta
change their perception of waste
and what they do with that waste.”
Ever the optimist, Salam says
there’s plenty of room for growth
Download PDFs of any
in the recycling industry.
of these reports free at
“If we work together and teach
people about waste management,”
he says, “we can reduce the
amount of waste the city has to
collect each day.  Annie Dang www.thejakartaglobe.com