JakartaPost/Tempo-Oct 8, 2025
The Batam office of the Customs and Excise Directorate General said 18 containers of electronic waste would be reexported to the United States after the environment ministry analysis confirmed the materials were classified as hazardous and toxic. Batam customs head Zaky Firmansyah told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the e-waste imported by several companies in Batam, Riau Islands, was classified as “waste A108d”, which is hazardous and toxic. “Yes, it is true. The containers hold hazardous and toxic waste,” he said over the phone. Physical examination of the 18 containers was held by the Batam customs office together with the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) and the Environment Ministry. Zaky said his office would take strict measures and ordered the importers to reexport the e-waste to its country of origin. “Currently [the documents] are still in the process and submission. Hopefully the containers can be reexported soon,” he said. He added that the customs office was still estimating the values of the e-waste imports and any parties who should be responsible for the reexport. Previously, Zaky said the 18 containers were imported by two companies, including PT Esun Internasional Utama. Returning contaminated goods is a standard procedure. The US, for example, has returned hundreds of containers of shrimp from Indonesia after US Customs and Border Protection detected traces of radioactive contamination of Cesium-137 in July, tempo.co reported. Read more at:
