Batam to get toxic waste plant

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

A Bogor-based company will build a toxic and hazardous waste processing plant in Batam, Riau Islands, this year.

The company, PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri (PPLI), will be the first Indonesian company to get into the business of managing toxic and hazardous waste in Batam.

The company's director Machmud Badres said the large amount of toxic and hazardous waste produced by industries in Batam made it economical to set up a facility to pool the waste there.

He said he expected the presence of the facility would encourage industries in Batam to properly process their waste.

"According to our plans, the facility will be built this year. We're still calculating the amount of total investment (needed) and the waste processing capacity of the depot," Machmud said.

He said the company was still negotiating with the relevant agencies in Batam, including over whether it could build the facility outside the waste processing area managed by the Batam Industrial Development Authority (BIDA).

According to Machmud, industries in Indonesia producing toxic and hazardous waste have shown a lack of environment awareness.

Despite laws urging the safe disposal of toxic and hazardous waste, many companies still dump their waste with little regard for the environment.

Machmud said that despite having the capacity to process 100,000 tons of waste a year, the unwillingness of Indonesian companies to properly dispose of their waste meant the company only processed half that much.

"I can't mention the volume of B3 waste churned out by the industries in Indonesia. The volume varies considerably. But looking at the volume we process, it's less than optimal," Machmud said.

He said there had been a number of cases in which authorities had successfully prosecuted companies for illegally dumping hazardous and toxic waste.

"Processing B3 waste only takes up 0.1 percent of the total production cost, so there should be no reason why the high cost of processing waste should lead companies to dispose of their hazardous waste carelessly," said Machmud.

The exact number of companies producing toxic waste in Batam is still unclear but is estimated to be in the hundreds.