Klin Indonseia's Blog

A Bali scavenger bedridden for 8 months after stepping on a used syringe

16 January 2018, Posted by Tristan

(translated from Indonesian by Google translate)

Arik Can not Wake Up For 8 Months After Stepping on a Syringe at a Mountain Trash

Tribunnews.comUpload Date & TimePublished 15/01/2018 13:50 https://today.line.me/ID/pc/article/MMm6Gj?utm_source=washare

TRIBUNNEWS.COM, Denpasar – Holding iron and wood, Arik hit hard on the sole of his foot many times. Scavengers at Suwung landfill are working hard to remove the hospital syringes that reside in the soles of his feet.

This 55-year-old man just realized his feet punctured used syringes after five hours of guerrilla search for recyclable waste in the landfill area of ​​32 hectares. He did not expect the mound of waste landfill that he had pushed using the foot turned out to contain used syringes.

“Whereas I have used the shoes, but also translucent,” said this man from Jember when interviewed Tribune Bali, Thursday (4/1/2017) afternoon, at TPA Suwung.

The incident was experienced by Arik at the end of 2016 ago. Although it has been more than a year, but the experience has made Arik traumatized to this day. Because, after being stuck needle used the syringe, Arik could not wake up for eight months.

“The next day after I got punctured, the morning my leg started to swell. When I use the road, I collapse. Finally I went back to Jember. Can not work eight months. It really suffered me for eight months, “said the man who has been a scavenger at the Suwung TPA since 20 years ago.

Initially, Arik was given injections by a doctor who is based in the Suwung TPA area. But the drug did not work. Arik decided to stop scavenging. In his hometown, Arik had also come to a doctor practice. At that time, he asked for the most effective medicine for his legs to recover soon. Although already given a drug injection is efficacious, but the pain that happened at that time only lost for a moment.

“After the medicine runs out, the pain reappears, and returns swollen. Finally my friend told me to use hot therapy treatment. I tried, three times the therapy I finally healed and returned to work, “recalled Arik.

Arik is one of many scavengers at the Suwung TPA who had been exposed to a used needle puncture while working for garbage.

Understandably, medical waste such as syringes, infusion, infusion hoses, blood bags, and medicine bottles are freely thrown away at this landfill located in Pesanggaran, Denpasar.

Although not as much as in previous years, to this day there are still hospitals who dispose of medical waste into the Suwung TPA. Even found medical waste that still have the name and stamp of the hospital.

“If the previous years wah many here there is a needle, a blood bag. It’s still there now, but it’s getting smaller. Not like before (before 2017), “said Arik

Search results Tribun Bali during the last week, there are still medical waste disposed in the TPA Suwung. Medical waste belonging to hazardous and toxic materials is apparently still free to be disposed of at the landfill. A number of scavengers also claim average still often find the medical waste disposed in this largest landfill in Bali.

“Last night there was a waste,” said scavenger who claimed to see firsthand medical waste dumped into the landfill Thursday (4/1/2017) at around 01:00 pm.

At the beginning of October 2017, right on the west side of the site into the garbage disposal area, medical waste such as drug traces, intravenous bottles, used bandages filled with blood, and injection syringes scattered. Allegedly at that time the medical waste has recently been discharged to the landfill, because the condition of the garbage is still clean alias has not contain much mud and soil.

Earlier, around the end of August 2017, a pile of black and yellow crackle bags was also spotted around the landfill site at the Suwung TPA. Not just any garbage, inside the crackle bag there is also a bottle infusion, syringes, remnants of medicine, and used bandages, and hand slop containing scattered blood. Two scavengers seemed to invade the medical waste.

“Clearly sold if this garbage,” said a scavenger who was reluctant to name his name dikorankan.

When the Tribun Bali tried guerrilla warfare between the Suwung TPA mountains, early this January, looking at the top end of this TPA, precisely on the east side, a number of heavy equipment are working to dredge the newly arrived and disposed of garbage.Tribun Bali also tried to approach a number of garbage dredge workers who work at disposal sites. At that time the Tribune Bali pretended to be a hospital official who was about to dispose of medical waste using a pickup truck. (I Wayan Erwin Widyaswara)

Latest Blog