Indonesia rejects foreign waste, returns hundreds of garbage containers
Beijing, September 4, according to the "Central News Agency" reported on the 4th, Indonesia refused to become a foreign dumping site, Indonesian customs officials said they have hundreds of containers filled with garbage back to the original exporting countries.
According to reports, an Indonesian customs official noted that in recent months, about 250 containers seized across China have been returned, and authorities are also investigating more than 1,000 other containers.
DeniSirjantoro, a spokesman for Indonesia's Tax and Customs agency, said 49 containers filled with waste seized on Batam island near Singapore had been returned to the United States, Germany, France and Australia, among other places.The containers were reportedly filled with garbage, plastic waste and dangerous materials in violation of cargo import regulations. "The imported goods must not be contaminated with toxic or dangerous substances," Sirjantoro said.
Indonesian customs data show that nearly 200 containers were removed from Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya and returned to the United States, Britain and Germany. Sirjantoro also said authorities near the Indonesian capital Jakarta were rushing to return 150 containers and inspect more than 1,000 others that may have contained prohibited items.
In response to the surge in imported waste, Indonesia continues to step up monitoring of waste outside its borders.