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Industry rejects ‘strange’ idea of turning illegal goods into fuel
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A fishing boat sails near the New Priok Container Terminal One (NPCT1) in Cilincing, Jakarta, on Aug. 20, 2024. Indonesia enjoyed a US$470-million trade surplus in July. (Antara/Aprillio Akbar)
T
he government has proposed turning illegally imported goods into industrial fuel for factories due to budget constraints that prevent it from destroying the contraband, but the idea has drawn a sharp rebuke from critics and industrialists, who say such a move could be burdensome rather than beneficial.
Trade Ministry Domestic Trade Director General Moga Simatupang came up with the idea of using the confiscated products, including textiles and machinery, as a source of energy for factories to save the government the cost of having to move and destroy them.
Since its establishment last month, the illegal goods task force has seized Rp 106.2 billion (US$6.8 million) worth of illegally imported goods, including thousands of tools, such as grinders and drills, electronic gadgets, plastic products, furniture, textiles, footwear, alcoholic beverages and even a car washing machine valued at Rp 15 billion.
Read also: Govt mulls turning confiscated illegally imported goods into industrial fuel
Speaking to The Jakarta Post, Fajar Budiono, secretary-general of the Indonesian Olefin, Aromatic and Plastic Industry Association (Inaplas), opposed the idea, calling it impracticable for the local plastics industry.
While plastics could technically be converted into fuel through a process called pyrolysis, it was not a common practice within the domestic plastics industry, Fajar explained.
“This is a rather strange and unclear idea. Few in our industry have the machinery required to convert plastics into energy,” he said on Thursday.
