The Jakarta Government spent Rp. 9 billion on 1,809 of these “animated” trash cans in December. Photo: Berita Jakarta
Have you seen those weird new trash cans that have gone up all over Jakarta’s streets – the ones that look like fruit, frogs and other creatures? The Jakarta Sanitation Department decided to spend Rp. 9 billion on 1,809 of these “animated” trash cans (animated in the sense that they look like cartoons – unfortunately they don’t actually dance and sing when you toss garbage down their throats), thinking it was a good way to get Jakartans to litter less.
Apparently they did consult Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama before making the purchase. Ahok seems to be furious over the animated trash cans and he’s directed his anger specifically at the the head of the Jakarta Sanitation Department, Saptastri Ediningtyas.
Ahok said the garbage cans only made sense if they were placed in public parks for children to use, not on the side of major roads in Kota Tua, Taman Sari and along the East Flood Canal.
“So I ask, who had this idea? It has been purchased using money from the budget and somehow got placed on side of our streets. If they had been placed in our parks, then it would be fine,” Ahok said at City Hall on Monday as quoted by Kompas.
In addition to the bad placement, Ahok also criticized the design of the animated trash cans, saying their mouths were too small, making it difficult for people to throw garbage into them and for janitors or scavengers to get waste out.
“The mouths of these (garbage cans) are small, how can people throw their waste in it? These trash cans are a poor fit for the side of the road,” Ahok said irritably.
