Batam to destroy illicit US e-waste, abandons re-export plan

BATAM – Authorities in Batam said they will destroy more than 650 containers of illegally imported toxic electronic waste from the US that had been sitting for months at a local port, abandoning earlier plans to re-export the cargo.

Head of the Batam Environment Agency, Mr Dohar Mangalando Hasibuan, said the decision had been taken to ease congestion at the Batu Ampar Port.

“The decision to destroy the imported e-waste domestically was taken following a directive from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, which called for the containers to be processed as soon as possible to prevent a backlog at the port,” he said on April 27.

The Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) had earlier said the e-waste containers were occupying most of the port’s 1,000 20-foot equivalent unit capacity.

Environmental activists also warned that prolonged storage of hundreds of e-waste containers at the port could lead to corrosion from exposure to seawater and humid coastal air, raising the risk of toxic environmental leaks.

Mr Dohar said the Batam Environment Agency will begin the disposal process by sorting the contents of the containers to identify materials containing hazardous and toxic substances.

All hazardous materials will then be handed over to PT Desa Air Cargo, a licensed private company that handles the transportation, collection, utilisation and processing of hazardous waste, for further treatment.

The e-waste backlog at the Batu Ampar Port began after the Basel Action Network (BAN), a US-based environmental watchdog, alerted Indonesia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva about a potentially illegal shipment of e-waste to the country in late 2025.

BAN is known for tracking and exposing the flow of hazardous waste, especially e-waste, from developed to developing countries.

Subsequent investigations found that three recycling companies in Batam – PT Esun Internasional Utama, PT Logam Internasional Jaya and PT Batam Baterai Recycle Industries – had imported e-waste from the US without prior notification between the exporting and importing countries, as required under the Basel Convention.

The Basel Convention is an international treaty regulating the transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous waste. Indonesia ratified the agreement in 1993.

Following the findings, the Customs Office ordered the importers to re-export the containers. However, the process moved slowly, while additional shipments continued to arrive, bringing the total to 914 containers.

Shortly after the case emerged, BP Batam suspended the import and operational permits of the three companies involved.

Following the suspension, it remained unclear which party would be responsible for re-exporting the waste, leaving the final disposal of the containers unresolved.

So far, only 98 containers have been successfully re-exported to the US, while 160 others have received re-export approval from the Batam Customs Office.

This leaves 656 containers without a clear resolution.

Environmental group Akar Bhumi has criticised the government’s decision to destroy toxic e-waste domestically instead of re-exporting it to its country of origin.

“This may look like a practical solution because the waste cannot be stored at the port for long, but it is not correct in principle,” Akar Bhumi founder Hendrik Hermawan said on April 28, as quoted by Indonesian media outlet Kompas.

“We cannot use practicality as justification to obscure the criminal liability of the companies that own the waste. If it is destroyed here, who bears the cost? The state again. That means a state loss.”

Mr Hendrik said the proper course of action would be to return the waste to its country of origin or pursue criminal prosecution against the responsible importers, as mandated by law.

He said destroying toxic e-waste domestically places a financial burden on the state, despite the obligation resting with exporters or importers.

He also warned that domestic handling of such waste still carries environmental risks, particularly during sorting and the destruction process. THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK