Surabaya To Build Green Belt Around Benowo Landfill

Surabaya (Antara Jatim) - The Surabaya city government plans to plant trees on the green belt around the Benowo landfill to absorb the garbage odor.

"A good landfill must have a barrier in the form of a green belt," Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said while conducting an impromptu inspection of the landfill here on Thursday.

Risma, as the mayor is popularly called, said the green belt will help reduce the negative impact of the landfill on nearby residences. Therefore, the green belt will be developed with trees capable of absorbing the garbage odor.

The planned construction of the green belt is now entering the phase of land clearance. Nearly 100 hectares of land belonging to individuals and private companies will be cleared to make way for the construction of the green belt.

During the impromptu inspection, the mayor also visited a waste-to-energy plant at the Benowo landfill, which processes garbage into methane gas to produce electricity.

Part of the electricity is sold to state electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and the rest is used for the landfill's operations.

Risma said the Benowo landfill is capable of producing 1.8 to 2 megawatts (MW) of electricity per day. Looking ahead, the city government will increase the electricity production by building a new waste-to-energy plant. Once the new power plant is completed, electricity production is expected to reach 10 MW per day.

However, she added that building a power plant is not as easy as building an apartment.

A good plan, land and supporting facilities are needed to build a power plant, she added. (*)