RI ships waste back to Holland

RI ships waste back to Holland

JAKARTA (JP): Seventy-five containers of hazardous waste
piling up unclaimed in the Tanjung Priok port since 1993 was
finally shipped back to the Netherlands by the Indonesian
government yesterday.

The waste had been the center of controversy between the
government and environmentalists ever since its arrival more than
two years ago.

It was sent back on the vessel KM Kedah in a ceremony attended
by Nabiel Makarim, the deputy chief of the Environmental Impact
Management Agency; Sheila K Karwal, the economic attache of the
Dutch Embassy and H.A. Parinding of the Jakarta Customs and
Excise Office.

Parinding, who is in charge of handling smuggling cases, said
that since 1993 there have been 205 containers of hazardous waste
unclaimed at Tanjung Priok, six at Belawan of North Sumatra and
four at the Surabaya port.

Of the 205 containers at Tanjung Priok, 150 are categorized as
toxic and 55 non-toxic, Parinding said. Twenty five containers of
the waste have been destroyed and more will be returned to the
countries of origin, he added.

According to Antara, the state has suffered a loss of about Rp
400 million (US$178,000) because it cannot bill the importers for
the two and a half years storage of the waste.

The agreement between the Indonesian and the Dutch governments
to return the waste to the Netherlands was announced by the
Indonesian Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

According to Sarwono, the Netherlands, in a goodwill gesture,
agreed to cover all costs, which include transportation and
disposal of the waste in an environmentally sound manner.

The 75 containers contain hazardous and non-recyclable waste
matter such as medical waste, copper, zinc, lead and corrosive
waste which will be traced back to exporters from the
Netherlands. (pan)