Indonesia begins re-exports of toxic US e-waste in crackdown on illegal imports

Authorities in Batam have begun sending hazardous electronic waste back to the United States, a tentative breakthrough in a case that has clogged one of Indonesia’s busiest ports with hundreds of suspect containers and tested the country’s ability to police such illegal imports.Four containers of electronic waste classified as hazardous and toxic materials were shipped out last week from Batu Ampar Port under the supervision of Batam Customs, according to Indonesian media reports.The move follows a blunt warning from Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq that Indonesia would not tolerate being turned into “a dumping ground” for illegal foreign waste.The head of Batam Customs, Zaky Firmansyah, said re-export was mandatory once cargo had been confirmed to contain banned waste, leaving importers with no alternative but to send it back.“All containers carrying hazardous and toxic waste must be re-exported. There is no other option,” he said, as quoted by local outlet iNews Batam in a report published on Thursday.Customs identified the four containers as belonging to Esun Internasional Utama Indonesia and said they contained used electronic components such as computer parts, hard disks, printed circuit boards and other discarded equipment deemed hazardous under Indonesian law.