Many Jakartans litter like they breathe – without thinking and all the time. Public education may help some learn the importance of not polluting our environment, but let’s face it, sometimes the only thing that people understand is the cold harsh justice of a monetary fine.
Yes, littering is in fact against the law in Jakarta, as 26 residents of West Jakarta who had to go to court in Tanjung Duren today over littering violations can tell you.
The 26 were caught littering red-handed by officers as part of Operasi Tangkap Tangan (Operation Hand Capture) and were forced to come to the court to receive their punishment.
As quoted by Kompas, the court judge asked one of the violators, Retno Floritawati, “Ibu Retno, do you know what you did wrong?”
“Yes, sir. Littering. Throwing toilet paper in the street,” Retno replied.
“For that, you must pay Rp 100,000,” the judge told her.
Retno did not argue with the judge, immediately paying the fine. Although she said she was not aware of any littering laws, she accepted her punishment.
“Yeah I understand why [I have to pay the fine]. Previously there had been no notification. And I was in a hurry,” Retno said.
Meanwhile, West Jakarta Mayor Anas Effendi, said the goal of bringing litterers to court was to get people to was to deter them from littering again and to help them understand the importance of keeping the environment clean.
“We want them to be deterred [from littering] and to dispose waste in a designated place so that it doesn’t cause flooding and become a source of disease,” Anas said.
The litterers were prosecuted under Article 130 of a 2013 law on waste management that allows those who throw trash in undesignated areas to be fined a maximum of Rp 100k, or Rp 500k if they dump waste into reservoirs, rivers or on sidewalks.
