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TANGERANG, Indonesia: For residents along the Cisadane River in Indonesia, the coronavirus has brought not only deadly diseases, but also an avalanche of medical waste – a constant stream of floating syringes, masks and hazardous materials suits.
The double threat to those who depend on the 138 km river to bathe and wash their clothes comes as Indonesia has struggled to contain COVID-19, now with the highest death toll in Southeast Asia, and in the last week almost 3,000 new infections per day.
As the virus spread, medical waste accumulated at Tangerang’s Cipeucang landfill. Then in May its walls collapsed, sending tons of trash straight into the khaki green waters of Cisadane.
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Eka Purwanti, a 37-year-old resident, washes clothes in the Cisadane River in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, on August 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Willy Kurniawan).
Fishermen are seen in wooden boats as they search for fish in the Cisadane River in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, on August 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Willy Kurniawan).
“To be honest, it still worries me, but I have to wash here,” local resident Eka Purwanti, 36, told Reuters as she washed clothes in the river and children played on the riverbank. “I hope nothing happens, although I know it is a fatal disease.”
Like countries around the world, Indonesia has seen the pandemic bring with it a huge increase in medical waste, a problem that has raised concern in places like Spain, Thailand and India.
In the months since the landfill collapsed, Ade Yunus, founder of the Cisadane River Trash Bank, has been working to clean up the canal.
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Members of the environmental group Cisadane River Waste Bank (Banksasuci) collect medical waste on the Cisadane River in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, August 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Willy Kurniawan).
“The first time we found medical waste was after the landslide,” Yunus said, bending down to pick up a syringe and deposit it in a safe. “In the beginning, we would find 50 to 60 items every day.”
The Indonesian Ministry of Health acknowledged the problem, saying 1,480 tons of COVID-19 medical waste was produced across the country from March to June, admitting that the country lacked treatment facilities but was working on solutions.
“A new regulation has just been approved that includes guidelines on the treatment of medical waste in each health facility,” said the ministry official, Imran Agus Nurali.
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Medical waste collected from the Cisadane River is seen inside a cardboard box in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, on August 2, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Willy Kurniawan).
A worker at an incineration company in a protective suit prepares bags of medical waste for loading onto a truck in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 12, 2020 (Photo: Reuters / Willy Kurniawan).
Most of Indonesia’s healthcare facilities, including hospitals, currently rely on third parties to incinerate their waste.
The flood has raised fears among public health experts that medical waste could spread the disease, and people in riverine communities are at high risk.
“If this medical waste is spread in the residential area near the river, then it could contaminate the water that people use there,” said Mahesa Paranadipa Maikel, an epidemiologist with the Indonesian Legal Health Society, “It could potentially result in the transmission of COVID-19 “.
Along the river, it is a risk that residents recognize.
“I am concerned that children may become infected with COVID-19 when they swim here,” said Astri Dewiyani, a local from Cisadane. “That’s why I always forbid my children to swim in the river.”
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