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Some 200 tons of hazardous waste turned back to Australia

The Customs and Excise Directorate General has prosecuted three companies that were allegedly the recipients of the imported mixed nonhazardous and toxic waste.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Fri, September 27, 2019

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Some 200 tons of hazardous waste turned back to Australia Jakarta Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. I Gede Nyeneng (left) shows plastic waste from one of the nine containers filled with contaminated waste at Koja container terminal in North Jakarta on Sept. 18. The waste was sent back to Australia. (JP/Robert Yota)

D

uring the first six months of this year, hundreds of containers filled with waste from abroad claimed to be non-hazardous have entered Indonesia through a number of seaports but it was discovered later that forbidden toxic materials were also mixed in with them.

“After a collaborative inspection by the Environment and Forestry Ministry and the Customs and Excise Directorate General on hundreds of containers filled with permitted nonhazardous waste, we discovered that some of them were mixed with toxic waste. This is a serious concern if not stopped immediately since Indonesia will then be a dumping ground for waste from other countries,” said the ministry's director of nonhazardous trash and toxic waste Ahmad Gunawan Widjaksono at Koja container terminal, North Jakarta last week.

The seaports include Tanjung Perak in Surabaya, East Java; Batu Ampar in Batam, Riau; Tanjung Priok in Jakarta; and the Berikat area in Banten.

According to Law No.18/2008 on waste management and Law No.32/2009 on environmental protection and management, all hazardous trash (B3) and most nontoxic waste is prohibited from entering Indonesia. However, Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 31/2016 on imported nontoxic waste stipulates that six categories of nonhazardous waste are allowed inside the country, which are metal scraps, paper, plastic, glass, rubber and textiles.

Customs and Excise director general Heru Pambudi said that last week the office had sent nine containers back to Australia. “The nine containers are part of the 23 containers filled with contaminated waste that were imported by PT HI from Queensland, Australia to Tanjung Perak port in Surabaya in June. The nine containers weigh 210 tons,” said Heru during a ceremony to re-export the waste at Koja container terminal last week.

Furthermore, Heru said his agency had prosecuted three companies that were allegedly the recipients of the imported mixed nonhazardous and toxic waste.

“Based on our investigation, the companies [identified as] PT HI, PT NHI and PT ART, had imported overseas waste to Indonesia. In fact, one of the companies didn’t even possess a legitimate permit to receive imported items,” said Heru.

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