KLH Failed 73 Illegal Electronic Waste Containers From The US Entering RI

Containers (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Environment (KLH) thwarted the entry of hazardous and toxic waste (B3) in the form of 73 containers of illegal e-waste (e-waste) from the United States and ensured that all of them would be returned to their home country.

"The government will not tolerate efforts to make Indonesia a place for disposal and treatment of illegal waste from abroad. Any party proven to have imported illegal electronic waste will be legally processed and will be subject to criminal sanctions in accordance with statutory provisions," said the Minister of Environment (LH)/Head of the Environmental Control Agency (BPLH) Hanif Faisol Nurofiq quoting Antara.

He explained that the results of the detection of the Deputy for Environmental Law Enforcement (Gakkum LH) KLH/BPLH together with the Directorate General of Customs and Excise found indications of e-waste income through Batu Ampar Port, Batam, Riau Islands on September 22-27, 2025.

Following up on these findings, KLH/BPLH immediately sent a letter to the Director General of Customs and Excise to prevent goods from leaving the port and carry out strict supervision of a number of electronic waste importing companies.

The results of a physical examination with the Batam Customs and Excise KPU on the 73 containers revealed that the illegal goods were owned by PT Logam Internasional Jaya, PT Esun Internasional Utama Indonesia, and PT Batam Battery Recycle Industry.

The Directorate of Waste Management of B3 KLH/BPLH ensures that all containers contain B3 waste in the category B107d (electronic waste) and A108d (libah contaminated with B3), such as a board circuit printer (PCB), wire rubber, CPU, hard disk, and other used electronic components. All of these containers are now being processed for re-export back to the United States.

The entry of illegal electronic waste is a serious violation of Article 106 of Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management, which states that anyone who includes B3 waste in Indonesian territory can be sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison and fined IDR 5 billion to IDR 15 billion.

Deputy for Gakkum KLH/BPLH Rizal Irawan stated the government's commitment to take this case to the realm of law. The findings, he said, became evidence that the B3 waste import mode was still happening.

"We will coordinate with law enforcement officials to take this case to the criminal realm. In addition to administrative sanctions, companies involved will be faced with criminal sanctions and fines as regulated in the Environmental Law," said Rizal Irawan.