Indonesia is sending dozens of containers of waste back to Western nations after finding it was contaminated with used diapers, plastic and other materials, adding to a growing backlash in Southeast Asia against being a dumping ground for the developed world’s rubbish.
The Directorate General of Customs said yesterday that 49 containers in Batam port near Singapore will be returned to Australia, the U.S., France, Germany and Hong Kong.
Separately, the head of customs at East Java’s Tanjung Perak port, Basuki Suryanto, said eight other containers with 210 tons of waste that arrived from Australia last month were supposed to contain only paper but included diapers, plastic bottles and oil packaging.
China recently banned the import of plastic waste, resulting in more being sent to Southeast Asia. AP
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