Indonesia returns seven containers of waste to France and Hong Kong
- The containers were loaded with a combination of garbage, plastic waste and hazardous materials in violation of import rules
- Officials are still waiting for clearance to return another 42 containers of waste, including shipments from the US and Australia
“The containers left on Monday and some officials were there to see the ship depart,” head of local custom office Susila Brata said on Tuesday.
Earlier, customs spokesman Sumarna said that five containers were destined for Hong Kong and two were headed back to France.
Southeast Asia’s landfills expose the big Western lie about recycling
Jakarta has stepped up monitoring of imported waste in recent months as part of a push back against serving as a dumping ground for foreign trash.
For years China received the bulk of scrap plastic from around the world but closed its doors to foreign refuse last year in an effort to clean up its environment.
Around 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), with much of it ending up in landfills or polluting the seas, in what has become a growing international crisis.
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