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Toxic waste smuggling at Indonesian ports takes toll on local plastics industry
As the country’s waste management is still considered meager, many are urging the Trade Ministry to revise its 2016 regulation on nonhazardous waste imports to prevent a surge of unsorted waste to Indonesia's shores.
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Bogor Mayor Bima Arya holds a bag produced by Avani Eco Hub., which produces bags made of cassava fibers. Several cities in Indonesia, including Bogor, have banned single-use plastic to reduce the amount of untreated waste released into the environment. (JP/Theresia Sufa)
T
he plastics industry has begun to feel the pinch of the government’s crackdown on imports of plastic scraps, which are frequently smuggled into the country along with hazardous and toxic waste.
Plastic tray producer PT Royal Citra Bersama, one of the companies whose containers were deemed illegal for containing toxic waste, abandoned operations on July 6, leaving 300 of its laborers unemployed.
Upon visiting one of its plastic scrap processing plants in Batam, Riau Islands, on July 8, The Jakarta Post found a deserted factory with locked doors. An announcement written on a piece of paper on the factory’s front gate says that all operations were ceased on July 6.
A security guard identified as Markus was the only person found at the location.
“I was told to guard this plant, while all workers were sent home because we don’t have enough materials for our operation. Our boss was also scared,” Markus told the Post. He added that the company’s director, Suhardi Kie, aka Amin, had yet to return to the factory since authorities found that a container registered to the company was filled with hazardous waste allegedly imported from Australia.
Previously, the Batam Customs and Excise Office seized 65 containers at Batu Ampar Port in Batam following reports that they contained toxic and hazardous waste. Upon further inspection it was found that 49 of the containers held dangerous waste, while the remaining 16 met import standards.
Apart from Royal Citra Bersama, containers registered to PT Wiraraja Plastic, PT Tanindo and PT Cakra Abadi, which manufacture plastic pellets, were also marked as illegal.
