"Indonesia will soon issue a letter of re-export to waste-exporting countries based on the Basel Convention Secretariat," Dhewanti, an expert staff for Industry and Trade of the Forestry and Environment Minister, remarked here on Wednesday.
As Indonesia has ratified the convention, it will send back the illegal trash shipment to its origin countries, she asserted.
The move is projected to thwart the shipment of trash and hazardous waste to the country, Dhewanti explained, adding that the issue had been handled in accordance with Trade Ministerial Regulation No. 31 of 2016 and the Basel Convention.
Related news: Indonesia takes firm stand on saying no to foreign rubbish
"Article 9 of the Basel Convention has regulated the shipments of hazardous waste," she stated.
The ministry will work on coordination with the Trade Ministry, Customs Office, and Foreign Affairs Ministry to address the issue.
On June 14, the Forestry and Environment Ministry and Directorate General of Customs of the Finance Ministry had re-exported to the United States five containers of scrap paper found to also contain plastic, used diapers, and rubber. The trash was owned by PT AS.
The ministry's spokesman, Djati Witjaksono Hadi, remarked that the trash was immediately returned from Surabaya Port to the United States aboard the Zim Dalian ship following the completion of necessary documentation.
The amount of waste dumped in Southeast Asia has risen notably after China stopped accepting waste from Western nations last year.
Earlier, over 60 containers containing plastic trash had also been found at a port in Batam in Riau Islands.
Related news: Batam city government bans use of imported plastic waste Related news: Indonesian minister draws attention to dangers of plastic waste
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Translator: M Zulfikar, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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