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Mixed reactions as government takes some coal ash off hazardous waste list
Environmental advocacy groups have decried a recent decision to remove some fly ash and bottom ash (FABA) from a list of hazardous waste, while coal mining firms have welcomed the change.
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Heavy equipment and trucks pass through a coal mine in East Kalimantan on Aug. 19, 2016. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A)
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he government’s recent decision to remove fly ash and bottom ash (FABA), byproducts of coal burning, from the strictly regulated hazardous and dangerous (B3) waste list has drawn the ire of environmentalists but has been welcomed by industries looking to monetize their waste.
FABA is a category of coal combustion residuals (CCR) that contains heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic that are highly toxic for the environment and public health. It is a byproduct of electricity utilities and factories and has traditionally had little reuse value because of stringent regulation, which the new provision aims to change.
Most fly ash is captured before it is emitted into the air, while bottom ash is non-combustible residue that does not make it out of the chimneys of modern coal-fired plants.
FABA’s delisting is stipulated in Government Regulation No. 22/2021 on environmental protection and management, which was issued on Feb. 2, one of many implementing regulations passed as part of the Job Creation Law.
According to Appendix IX of the regulation, this type of waste is now considered hazardous only if emitted from a stoker boiler.
But environmentalists say the deregulation of FABA is a step backward in the nation’s environmental protections.
“This is proof that the state and the coal industry view environmental protection instruments as hindrances that must be weakened or even removed,” Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) campaigner Khalisah Khalid said during a discussion last week.
