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Learning to recycle more than cans and bottles

Jakarta should be recycling wastewater, say experts, even if it’s just for use in watering gardens or replenishing supplies in toilet tanks in malls and private houses. And according to a recent report in the Jakarta Globe, Singapore provides a good case study.

 

Decades ago the tiny city-state faced a serious water shortage. The solution was to begin recycling wastewater for commercial and industrial use. The country’s water officials also had some of it bottled into what it labeled “NEWater,” a product the passed the World Health Organization’s criteria for drinkable quality.

 

Today, the Globe reported, NEWater is targeted to meet up to 30 percent of Singapore’s water needs.

 

Jakarta, on the other hand, uses just one percent of its wastewater. Nearly 60 percent of the city’s water supplies come from the Kati Lahur reservoir in the south, and the remainder comes from ground water.

 

It will take time to get people believing that reusing wastewater is acceptable, but most of the water that emerges from wastewater treatment plans is perfectly acceptable, even for drinking. Water experts say most of the buildings in Jakarta that have their own septic systems should be recycling their water, but are not.

 

The Lippo Karawaci village on Jakarta’s outskirts has been doing this for 15 years. Analysts say developers should take a cue from their example.

 

www.thejakartaglobe.com