Last Friday, Prigi Arisandi, of the Brantas River Coalition to Stop Imported Plastic (BRACSIP), sent a letter to the Parliament of Victoria regarding its recycling and waste management.
"We assume that unsorted waste and scrap paper contains high contamination of plastic waste and other municipal wastes," the letter reads.
This imported paper waste is used by factories in East Java Province as raw material in paper production, but high levels of plastic contamination in that waste have dire environmental impacts on the Brantas River, which is the longest river in East Java and regularly used by five million people.
BRACSIP's request of Australian governments comes amid renewed scrutiny of recycling practices around the world, as well as
Prigi writes that there are four types of waste papers imported from Australia by paper factories in East Java Province. This imported waste paper is used by factories in East Java Province as raw material in paper production.
Indonesia prohibits the importation of mixed municipal waste, like plastic household waste and food packaging, but Prigi writes in the letter that the levels of plastic contamination of waste paper imported by paper factories in East Java can be as high as 30 per cent. That is more than six times the approved level and constitutes a mix of municipal waste that has to be considered illegal to enter the country.
Total weight of Australian waste paper imports to East Java (Courtesy of Prigi Arisandi/BRACSIP) Source: Courtesy of Prigi Arisandi/BRACSIP
In Indonesia, imported waste paper passes Indonesian customs without detailed inspection because it is classified in a list of 'green line commodities' that must contain less than five per cent contamination to be approved for importation.
After China banned imports of most plastic waste in 2018, developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, have received a huge influx of contaminated and mixed plastic waste that are difficult or even impossible to recycle.
PT Megasurya Eratama in the village of Jasem in Mojokerto, one of the importers of Australia's waste paper. (The Party Department) Source: The Party Department
Malaysia, which became , says that they will send up to 3,000 tonnes of plastic waste back to the countries it came from, including back to Australia due to contamination.
Previously, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte ordered his government to hire a private shipping company and leave them within its territorial waters if it refuses to accept the trash.
BRACSIP, has also asked the US, Canada, New Zealand and Britain to collect their waste and carry out environmental recovery, saying that current practices are unfair and an insult to Indonesia’s dignity.
"Indonesia has been accused of being the largest garbage contributor in ASEAN and number two globally, and has a poor waste management system, but 'civilised' countries actually dispose of their plastic waste in Indonesia," says the BRACSIP .
BRACSIP's letter says that most non-valuable plastic scraps are being burned or sold as fuel to tofu making home industries in East Java. Local waste collectors in nearby communities also dump plastic waste scraps on the riverbanks of the Brantas, destroying riparian habitat and polluting Brantas River with plastic scraps, toxic ashes, and micro-plastic particles.
BRACSIP says that US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain have disposed their garbages in Indonesia. (The Party Department) Source: The Party Department
Microplastic contamination is another danger for Brantas river in which
Prigi writes in the letter that Australia is seen as a civilised developed country with a higher capacity in waste recycling and management than Indonesia, thus can help more on the issue of environmental contamination.
BRACSIP hopes that Australia would enforce strict inspection and control on Australian waste exporters so that waste paper exported to Indonesia will contain less than five per cent plastic contamination. It is also hoped that Australia abides by the amendment of the 'Basel Convention', which .
The environmental coalition has also asked relevant parties in Indonesia to help tackle this issue.
Imported paper waste at the area of PT Megasurya Eratama, a paper factory in Mojokerto, East Java. (The Party Department) Source: The Party Department
Letters have to the Director of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the Minister of Environment and Forestry, and also to PT Sucofindo (Superintending Company of Indonesia) - a government-owned products inspection company.
BRACSIP wants the Director of Import to discipline paper companies in East Java that have dumped imported waste into the Brantas river, for PT Sucofindo to check waste paper in the home country prior to being exported to be free of plastic contamination, and for the Minister of Environment to examine environmental impacts and to develop a strategic plan for restoring the Brantas' riverbanks.
Prigi has confirmed to SBS Indonesian that there has been no response from the Australian government regarding BRACSIP's inquiry.
