Merauke, Jubi – The Head of Karang Indah Village in Merauke Regency, Wilibrodus Sabon Duran, created a competition to catch the persons who carelessly litter in a public place, with a prize of Rp 500,000 (USD 33.12).
Confirmed by Jubi by telephone on Saturday, February 4, 2023, Duran confirmed he made an open competition for anyone who could catch the litterbugs on Ternate Street.
“Yes, it’s true. Yesterday I asked my staff to make a flyer and posted it on social media. Since I was appointed village head, I have cleaned Ternate Street three times. And from the stories of the staff, the previous village heads have also repeatedly cleaned the place. Yet there are still irresponsible people who throw garbage on that road. On the left and right sides of the road, garbage is scattered everywhere, including household waste and plastic waste,” said Duran.
Duran has also asked the help of the neighborhood unit head and local residents to guard the street and report directly to the village head’s office. However, this method has not been fruitful, they were never able to find out who the culprit was.
“We have waited and guarded, but we don’t know who the culprit is. We are also confused. Finally, we came up with the idea to make a competition. There was no government budget for this, so we used our own funds,” he said.
Duran explained that the competition is an effort to prevent and also provide a deterrent effect to the perpetrator of littering so that there is public awareness on waste management. Through the competition, it is also hoped that there will be control from the community itself to keep the environment clean and comfortable.
“We also have Local Regulation No. 5/2014 on Waste Management. If caught, we will bring the perpetrator to be processed according to the regulations. We are also coordinating with Babinsa Karang Indah (non-commissioned officers) so if not immediately processed, at least the perpetrator is given a warning,” said Duran. (*)
