RI, Denmark To Cooperate In Waste Management

JAKARTA, May 3 (Antara) - Indonesia and Denmark have signed an agreement on cooperation in waste management and clean water supply. "It (the cooperation) would be on transfer of technology. But I do not yet know the details of the technology to solve the problems of waste water management," Environment and Forestry Minister Siti nurbaya said, after the signing the Letter of Intent (LoI) with Danish Minister of Development Cooperation Ulla Tornes, here on Tuesday. Denmark is widely known as a country with advanced technology in waste management, and Indonesia would learn whether the technology could be used to solve waste problem in the country, Nurbaya stated. The government is committed to reduce waste, especially plastic waste, by 70 percent, from 9 million tons per year of plastic wastes currently. The policy to charge plastic bags in some major retail shops has reduced the number of plastic bags used in supermarkets by 35 percent within six months. Danish experts would start their work at the ministry from July to learn the problem of waste management and clean water supply in the country and seek suitable technology to solve them. "We will continue this work to other big cities in Indonesia, which have also faced similar problems of waste management. The good thing is that Ulla Tornes would not only help in solving the problem of waste management but also improving water quality and preventing water pollution in rivers," she revealed. Meanwhile, Ulla Tornes noted that through the government-to-government cooperation, Denmark would share its experience on waste management and the technology to transform waste into energy. Denmark would send its experts on waste water management and clean water supply to Indonesia to evaluate the suitable technology to be transferred to the country. During the occasion, the Jakarta administration signed a cooperation with Denmark to formulate a master plan on waste management in the province.