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Indonesia Vows to Send Back Illegal Plastic Waste

Amanda Siddharta

   JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Among the tons of paper that comes into Indonesia
   for processing from overseas are countless pieces of plastic.

   "I found food packaging. That's the most common. For example, the
   microwavable TV dinners, pet food, snacks, or trash from household
   items, soap or cleaning solutions," said Prigi Arisandi, a documentary
   filmmaker in East Java.

   As the founder of Ecoton, an environmental non-governmental
   organization in Indonesia, Arisandi wanted to find out how plastic
   waste from overseas can enter Indonesia.

   "It's on YouTube, it's called Take Back!," he said.

   According to Arisandi, plastic waste can enter the country through
   imported used paper, the main material paper companies need to produce
   paper products. He has visited the country's landfills and sorted
   through the plastic waste that had been taken in by trash collectors.

   The Indonesian filmmaker says the plastic comes from developed
   countries, such as Australia, the United States, New Zealand and
   Canada.

   Data from the Indonesian National Statistics Agency showed a 141%
   increase in plastic waste imports last year. Indonesia imported a total
   of 283,000 tons of plastic, the highest recorded number in the past 10
   years.

   Exporting Plastic Waste to Indonesia is Illegal by Law

   Annisa Erou, a researcher from Indonesian Center for Environmental Law
   (ICEL), said Indonesia has regulations against imported trash.

   "In the law on trash management, it is clearly stated it is illegal to
   import trash, so plastic waste is not allowed. What is allowed,
   according to the ministerial decree, is production waste in the form of
   scraps. So plastic waste from production which can be recycled can be
   imported, but waste from consumption can't," she explained.

   Erou said what NGOs and activists have found so far is mostly plastic
   waste from household consumption. But because the plastic waste was
   sent with the material for paper production, the shipment could easily
   pass customs inspection.

   "With the customs, there's the green line and red line. Industrial raw
   material usually goes to the green line, so they will say ok to it,"
   said Erou.
   

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