Posted on 25/03/2009 in category Legislation
Indonesia imposes inspection for all waste and secondary material imports
A new regulation imposing controls on all imports of waste shipments into Indonesia will come into force on 24 June 2009, meaning that any shipment due to arrive on or after this date need to have undergone inspection prior to loading.
All containers destined for shipment to Indonesia need to be pre-inspected by the Ministry of Trade’s appointed agency, Surveyor Indonesia, which is a Government owned & appointed Agency. Surveyor Indonesia has appointed only SGS & BV as their international nominated agents / affiliates who will be authorized to conduct surveys on their behalf. The officially appointed agent must be present during the entire loading process including the sealing of the containers. Subsequently, the surveyor will notify its counterpart in Indonesia who will issue a certificate to the importer to allow clearance of goods through customs. An inspection fee will be charged for this procedure. A new regulation imposing controls on all imports of waste shipments into Indonesia will come into force on 24 June 2009, meaning that any shipment due to arrive on or after this date need to have undergone inspection prior to loading.
The Indonesian Ministry of Trade had introduced the new regulation on 31/10/08 as the result of many quality problems associated with the importation of co-mingled waste, to take effect for all arrivals as of 24/12/08. After interventions from industry, in particular the local Paper Producers Trade Association and the Iron & Steel Trade Association who requested the Indonesian government to review the regulation, a postponement until 24/06/2009 could be obtained.
Indonesia traditionally imports about 3 million tons of recovered fibre and about 4 million tons of metal scrap. These quantities are imported by about 15 to 17 paper mills and about 20 to 22 iron and steel importers. Interestingly, now imports of plastic scrap are also allowed into Indonesia, with an estimated quantity of about 300,000 mt per year.
Consultations with the Indonesian government are ongoing. One of the proposals made by the trade associations suggests that the Indonesian government can have inspection agencies visiting their sites to inspect that no hazardous waste is being imported.
Mr Ranjit Baxi, President of the BIR Paper Division, has been in contact with the Paper Producers Trade association and urged them to convey to their government that the recovered fibre imports are not waste but a raw material. He also intends to travel to Jakarta at the beginning of April to further discuss the matter with the local paper association.
An unofficial translation of the regulation is available here.