Govt's decision on waste import draws criticism
Govt's decision on waste import draws criticism
JAKARTA (JP): An environmental activist has questioned the government's commitment to protecting the environment following its decision to lift the ban on importing hazardous waste just one year after the ban was enacted.
Arimbi Heru Putri of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) also accused the government of bowing to pressures from powerful industrial lobbies to ease the rules on hazardous waste imports.
The government has given into large industry at the expense of the environment, she added.
The government imposed a total ban on hazardous waste imports in 1994 to stop industrial countries dumping their waste in Indonesia.
State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja announced on Friday that he has modified the 1994 regulation on hazardous waste.
The new regulation allows some hazardous waste to be imported under close joint supervision by the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), an institution which is chaired by Sarwono, and the Ministry of Industry.
"This should have been done a long time ago. The previous regulation was too strict and had the potential to cause even bigger environmental degradation," Sarwono said after meeting with President Soeharto.
He gave the example of used car batteries, considered a hazardous waste, as being the main raw material in the production of new batteries.
Last year's import ban has threatened the existence of the three battery manufacturers in Indonesia because the domestic supply of used batteries is insufficient.
If they closed down, it could pose a serious environmental problem to Indonesia, he said. The used batteries would find their way into small-scale home industries which would try to recycle the batteries. Controlling them, especially their impact on the environment, would be difficult, he added.
The solution is to allow limited imports to meet the needs of the three battery manufacturers, he said.
Arimbi, however, refused to accept Sarwono's reasoning.
"Does the new regulation guarantee that the existing factories do not pollute the environment?" she asked. "If the government is serious about protecting the environment, it should remain neutral, and support neither the small or the big producers. But this policy is bound to kill the small producers."
"The government should instead teach the small-scale factories ways to manage their waste so they don't pollute," Arimbi said. "Or alternatively, encourage cooperation between the small and big producers."
The environmental activist appealed to the government to conduct public debates before issuing new regulations, especially regarding the environment.
"If the government really intends to recognize the importance of the public as shareholders in the environment, it should hold open public debates before a new decree is issued or an old one is revised," Arimbi said.(pwn)