Indonesia makes a leap in green campaign<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia made a major leap in its environmental
\ncampaign yesterday with the inauguration of its first industrial
\nwaste treatment plant, hoped to give the nation an edge at the
\ndawn of the era of eco-labeling.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, in a speech to inaugurate the plant in
\nnearby Bogor, said that through the facility, Indonesia will meet
\nsome of the stringent environmental standards required in many of
\nits exports markets.<\/p>\n
"Our industrial products that fulfill the criteria to protect
\nthe environment have now become more competitive in the
\ninternational markets," Soeharto said.<\/p>\n
The Rp 200 billion ($95 million) plant, operated by PT
\nPrasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI), is the first in
\nIndonesia and also the largest in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
The plant, which can process up to 88,000 tons of waste a
\nyear, is located on 53-hectares in Nambo village near Cileungsi.
\nThe company is also procuring 30 hectares of land which it will
\nuse to dump the neutralized waste.<\/p>\n
The facility is jointly owned by Waste Management
\nInternational of Britain, PT Bimantara Citra (a company
\ncontrolled by Bambang Trihatmodjo, the President's son) and the
\ngovernment's Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal).<\/p>\n
Soeharto said all countries, developed or developing, should
\nbuild their own waste treatment facilities and stop using
\ndeveloping countries like Indonesia as a dumping site for their
\nindustrial waste.<\/p>\n
The plant is also important to the Indonesian people.<\/p>\n
The rapid growth of Indonesia's manufacturing industries has
\nalso entailed the production of toxic and hazardous waste which
\nhave to be treated with care if environmental and health problems
\nare to be avoided.<\/p>\n
The government on the eve of the plant's inauguration issued a
\nregulation requiring that all manufacturing companies to
\nneutralize their toxic and hazardous waste, either by installing
\ntheir own equipment, or by sending the waste to the waste
\ntreatment plants that are now being considered in various parts
\nof Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Second plant<\/p>\n
A second waste treatment plant is now being considered in
\nCerme near Surabaya, which has the second largest concentration
\nof industries in Indonesia after Jakarta. There are also plans to
\nbuild similar plants in Lhok Seumawe and in East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The facility in Cileungsi started operation in January and has
\nenlisted 23 clients from the automotive, petrochemical, chemical
\nand battery industries.<\/p>\n
Chief Executive of Waste Management International and
\nCommissioner of PT PPLI Edwin G. Falkman said at the inauguration
\nyesterday that the Indonesian government deserves credit for its
\nforesight and courage.<\/p>\n
PPLI staff have visited 450 companies in West Java and Jakarta
\nduring which some 250 companies have given PPLI samples of
\nhazardous and toxic waste, out of a total of 100,000 thousand
\ntons of waste annually.<\/p>\n
Falkman said PPLI charges between $107 and $400 per ton of
\ntreated waste, depending on the kind of treatment required. The
\nrate includes transporting the waste to and from the factories.<\/p>\n
Falkman assured the audience that the rates are competitive.<\/p>\n
"This price is lower than in Europe, and almost the same as
\nthe United States," he said, adding that the rates could further
\ndecline if more companies use the facilities.<\/p>\n
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident
\nRepresentative C. Jan Kamp commended Indonesia for showing the
\nwill to meet Agenda 21 of the UN Environmental Summit in Rio de
\nJaneiro in 1992.<\/p>\n
The agenda on environmental action for the 21st century
\ndevotes special attention to the management of chemicals and
\nhazardous waste, Kamp said.<\/p>\n
The plant offers to treat up to 95 percent of all hazardous
\nwaste, solid or liquid. It also has a unit to recycle oil which
\ncan be reused in cement factories.<\/p>\n
All waste brought to the site is "stabilized" through chemical
\nprocesses and then dumped in a huge landfill nearby which is also
\npart of the PPLI complex.<\/p>\n
The stabilized waste in the landfill is then covered with
\nplastic to prevent rainwater-seepage because it would be too
\nexpensive to treat the additional water that would be
\ncontaminated at the site. (prs)<\/p>",
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