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)