Firms unhappy with bill on dumping

Firms unhappy with bill on dumping

TANGERANG: A draft bylaw that will set out a scale of fees
payable for dumping industrial waste in Tangerang regency has met
with objections from members of the industrial community.

"If endorsed, the bill will be a burden because such payments
will mean an increase in production costs," Herry Rumawatine,
chairman of the Tangerang chapter of the Indonesian Business
Association (Apindo), said Thursday.

The Tangerang environmental agency had completed a draft of
the bylaw, which aims at controlling the disposal of industrial
waste.

The amount payable will be determined by the extent to which
the waste has been processed before being dumped as well as its
volume, meaning that the cleaner the waste, the lower the
payment.

Separately, head of the environmental agency Deden Sugandhi
said businesspeople were exaggerating their concerns.

"If their waste is safe (for the environment), they won't have
high fees to pay, will they? After all, we simply want to protect
the environment."

Tangerang regency, which is located to the west of Jakarta, is
home to many factories and industrial firms that are large
contributors to the administration's revenue. -- JP