Waste shipments to Indonesia grind to a halt after release of new regulation by Ministry of Trade

摘要

Shipments of waste to Indonesia for recycling have been suspended. Inspection companies authorised by Indonesian government stopped carrying out pre-shipment inspections on 22 November at the latest. The move was triggered by the release of a new regulation by the Indonesian Ministry of Trade on the import of "non-B3 waste" as raw material for industrial operations. Under Indonesian law,"B3"is the term used to designate wastes that are hazardous and toxic. A list of affected material streams is included in the appendix to the regulation. In addition to recovered paper, it includes numerous ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal grades and a wide range of waste plastics and waste textiles.