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)