Control on Waste Imports Tightened

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Foto 4 HAL 1: HL: Solusi kelola sampah impor

Since 2016, the government has allowed imports of paper waste to help the local recycling industry meet the need for raw material. However, this situation has been used by some people to import toxic waste.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — In order to curb imports of hazardous and toxic waste (B3) that is often mixed with various types of garbage, particularly used paper for the recycling industry, containers of all waste imports should enter the red track so that they receive a physical inspection from Customs and Excise officers.
The entry of imported toxic waste is the result of weak supervision. The Customs and Excise Directorate General cannot directly control all the containers of paper waste coming in for the recycling industry. As the containers enter through the green track, they are not physically checked.
Customs and Excise officers inspect the containers through import approval documents and surveyor reports.
The customs office recently discovered hazardous and toxic waste in a number of containers at Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, East Java. The toxic waste was mixed with paper waste to be used for the recycling industry in containers originating from the United States and Australia.
The illegal imports were discovered after the Customs and Excise Directorate General issued a memorandum of intelligence (NHI) document, which allowed customs officers to carry out a physical inspection of the containers.
“A physical examination can only be carried out when customs and excise officers have suspicions over the content of containers and then issue intelligence records," Basuki Suryanto, head of the customs and excise office in Tanjung Perak Port, said on Saturday.
Customs and excise officers cannot check all incoming containers without NHI documents if they enter through the green track.
"A physical examination of all containers can make the loading and unloading process longer and costs a lot," Basuki said.
During the last two months, plastic and toxic waste were found in five containers from the US and eight containers from Australia. In fact, all the containers, which contained paper waste contaminated with toxic waste, had already been inspected by surveyors in the countries of origin.
Re-export
There were two cases of paper waste imports contaminated with toxic and hazardous materials found in Surabaya this year. The first was on Feb. 14 when five containers of paper waste imported by PT US from the US contained plastic and toxic waste. The waste was then sent back to country of origin on June 14.
On June 12, eight containers of paper waste from Australia were also contaminated with plastic and toxic waste. Eight of the seized containers, which contained 282 bales of paper waste weighing 210 tons, were sent from the Port of Brisbane in Australia through the Shipper Oceanic Multitrading Pty Ltd. logistics service.
Their import documents indicated that the containers contained paper waste for the recycling industry. But during a physical examination carried out jointly by the customs and excise office and the Environment and Forestry Ministry, officials found paper waste mixed with various types of garbage, including used cans, plastic bottles, used oil containers, diapers, footwear and electronic waste.
In accordance with Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 31 of 2016, importers are required to send back the waste no later than 90 days after the goods arrive in Indonesia.
The plastic waste contaminated with toxic waste also entered through Batu Ampar Port, Batam. The results of laboratory tests on 65 containers of imported plastic waste showed that imported plastic waste in 49 of the containers were contaminated with toxic waste.
The secretary of the Dangerous and Toxic Waste and Waste Management Directorate General at the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Sayid Muhadhar, said procedures for imports of paper waste were eased in 2016 to support the recycling industry.
"The consideration was first, most players in the paper recycling industry are big companies. So, it is unlikely they would violate the regulation. So far, there has no problem," he said.
The easing was made to facilitate the recycling industry’s need for raw materials by allowing them to import the raw materials. However, now, he acknowledged, there are individuals who are taking advantage of the import facility.
Sayid said he had yet to consider requiring imports of paper waste for the recycled industry to pass through the red track. According to him, the red track is only used for imported paper waste that has problems and violate import procedures.
"The names of problematic [importers involved in the recycling industry] are already in our pockets. It is not difficult to identify them," he said.
KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA
A man arranges sacks of pre-sorted plastic waste on Monday (8/7/2019) in Bangun village, Pungging district, Mojokerto regency, East Java. The recyclable plastics were mixed in with the waste that a local paper factory imported to produce recycled paper.
The chairman of the Indonesian Plastic Recycling Association (ADUPI), Christine Halim, said it was not easy to obtain a permit to import waste for recycling.
"Companies should not only be able to buy, process and wash. We must be able to prove that we can make a final product that has added value. We also have to be able to export the recycled goods," he said.
At present, there are only 10 companies out of a total of 400 ADUPI members who have a permit to import waste for recycling purposes.
Christine said goods imported by ADUPI members were raw materials to be used for recycling.
"So, it should be distinguished between plastic waste for recycling and the waste that is mixed with paper waste as widely reported. We have never imported waste mixed with paper waste," he said. (SYA / ICH/ CAS)

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