Emet
November 15 2018
This is Emet. He has been in Bantar Gebang since about 1970, and so is one of the original inhabitants who were here before the landfill.
He says the landfill is a godsend, meaning he can earn a lot of money. At 48, he owns 5 houses which he rents out to locals. He has his own decent sized house (pictured) where he lives with his wife. His car is parked next to it. A devout Muslim (note his pristine white cap!) he has also just spent 60,000,000 rupiah (around €4000) so he can go on pilgrimage to Mecca.
He works around 8 or 9 hours every day finding metal, one of the most valuable commodities to be found on the dump. Copper goes for 27,000 per kilo and iron, around 48,000. Before he could work on the landfill, he sold soap from a cart in Jakarta. He says he was able only to make a subsistence wage there.
The land behind him, an enormous crater, used to be at the same height as the land we stood on, and covered in rainforest. Before the dump, the local community used to sell the soil to Jakarta - its distinctive red colour makes it a high quality, in demand commodity for new developments.
You can listen to the full interviews here: https://soundcloud.com/lifeatthelandfill
November 15 2018
This is Emet. He has been in Bantar Gebang since about 1970, and so is one of the original inhabitants who were here before the landfill.
He says the landfill is a godsend, meaning he can earn a lot of money. At 48, he owns 5 houses which he rents out to locals. He has his own decent sized house (pictured) where he lives with his wife. His car is parked next to it. A devout Muslim (note his pristine white cap!) he has also just spent 60,000,000 rupiah (around €4000) so he can go on pilgrimage to Mecca.
He works around 8 or 9 hours every day finding metal, one of the most valuable commodities to be found on the dump. Copper goes for 27,000 per kilo and iron, around 48,000. Before he could work on the landfill, he sold soap from a cart in Jakarta. He says he was able only to make a subsistence wage there.
The land behind him, an enormous crater, used to be at the same height as the land we stood on, and covered in rainforest. Before the dump, the local community used to sell the soil to Jakarta - its distinctive red colour makes it a high quality, in demand commodity for new developments.
You can listen to the full interviews here: https://soundcloud.com/lifeatthelandfill