Google News Indonesia: plastic pollution in the surface water in Jakarta
by | VIEW 266
Like many metropolises in developing countries, Jakarta has the problem of urban overcrowding. Its population has grown rapidly from 1.2 million in 1960 to 5.8 million in 2000 and 8.5 million in 2005, counting only official residents.
Too rapid growth has exceeded the government's ability to provide basic necessities to all residents. Jakarta attracts a large number of visitors so that the population during weekends is about double that of weekdays, mainly due to the effect of residents of the greater suburb (Jabotabek).
Due to the government's inability to set up a transportation network appropriate to the growing population size, Jakarta experiences major traffic jams on an almost daily basis. Air pollution and waste disposal are also two very big problems.
During the rainy season, Jakarta often gets flooded due to the clogging of sewers, pipes and drains. The continuous reduction of the rainforest, due to urban advancement, in the higher areas of South Jakarta near Bogor and Depok contributes to the increase in flood events.
The study Plastic pollution in the surface water in Jakarta, Indonesia, published on the Marine pollution bulletin, explained: "Plastic pollution in the ocean primarily originates from the land-derived mismanaged plastic waste that is transported by rivers.
This study aimed to estimate the plastic litter generation in the surface water in Jakarta and Indonesia. A field survey was conducted at six riverine sampling points (upstream to downstream) and three holding facilities of the litter in Jakarta during the rainy season.
The Jakarta Open Data database was used to estimate the tonnage of plastic litter.By mass, plastic comprised approximately 74 % of the anthropogenic litter in rivers and 87 % in holding facilities. The riverine plastic proportion slightly increased downstream.Approximately 9.9 g/person/day of plastic litter was discharged into Jakarta's surface water during rainy season and recovered by floating booms.To reduce plastic pollution and its severe impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health, further field investigation is necessary to design an effective clean-up system and litter-prevention strategy."
