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View all search resultsBatam sidelines speed for compliance in e-waste reexport case
The Batam customs authority is pushing for regulatory compliance to avoid a reoccurrence of the e-waste case that unfolded in October last year, a spokesman has said, even as 914 containers carrying the hazardous material continue to take up valuable space at Batu Ampar Port.
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A customs officer’s uniform features sleeve patches for the Finance Ministry (top) and its Customs and Excise Directorate General, in this stock photo taken on March 13, 2023. (Shutterstock/Wulandari Wulandari)
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he Batam Customs and Excise Office had not set a deadline for reexporting 914 containers of electronic waste to the United States to ensure compliance with all relevant procedures and regulations for dispatching dangerous waste outside Indonesian territory, its spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“So far there is no specific deadline for the companies to reexport [the e-waste], as long as they have the goodwill to follow the [established] procedure,” said Evi Oktavia, head of compliance and information services at the Batam Customs Office, adding that reexporting the e-waste was currently underway.
Explaining why the office had decided on a flexible approach, Evi said the process to resolve the issue also required interagency cooperation on verification documents from the Environment Ministry. The authority’s focus was to ensure adherence with both local and international regulations on transporting hazardous goods, he emphasized, rather than pushing a tight deadline.
Evi added that the Batam Customs Office had revoked the import licenses for the three companies involved, PT Batam Baterai Recycle Industries, PT Esun Internasional Utama and PT Logam Internasional Jaya, to ensure that Batam would not be burdened by large quantities of foreign waste for the long term.
The situation on the ground reveals a different urgency, however, as the containers of e-waste are piling up and causing logistical issues at Batu Ampar Port.
Batam Mayor Amsakar Achmad, who also heads the Batam Development Authority (BP Batam), has said the port’s capacity had reached a critical point.
Batu Ampar Port has a total capacity for 1,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of shipping containers, but for the past six months, it has been holding 914 TEUs of containers with e-waste imported from the US.
