Groups urge the government to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment to prevent the entry of imported trash into the country, as the remaining imported trash left Tagoloan port for South Korea, where it came from.
By Jigger J. Jerusalem - @inquirerdotnet – Inquirer Mindanao
Environment activists urge government to ban all types of waste importation as the remaining 5,177 metric tons of wastes from South Korea are being shipped back to their country of origin. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO (from EcoWaste Coalition)
Though experts describe the new policy as a “milestone,” they also believe encouraging the use of biodegradable plastics is equally damaging to the environment.
Li You
China plans to ban the production of certain single-use plastic items by the end of this year to curb the amount of waste clogging the country’s landfills and waterways.
The Indonesian government pushed back on an international study that found high levels of dioxin in a village where plastic is burned to produce tofu. Article by Richard C. Paddock, published in the New York Times, 19 December 2019.
IPEN’s Toxic Plastics video provides a quick and accessible overview about how toxic chemicals in plastics threaten human and environmental health throughout the plastic life-cycle, from petrochemical production through disposal. Most plastics are not recyclable, but new plastic products made from recycled plastics can contain a toxic soup of dangerous chemicals. Landfills leech toxic chemicals into soils and groundwater. Incineration creates toxic pollution, including dioxins. Exporting plastic waste is poisoning poor communities around the world. View and share the video in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish, and then find IPEN research and reports for a deeper dive.
Plastic waste from America, collected for recycling, is shipped to Indonesia. Some is burned as fuel by tofu makers, producing deadly chemicals and contaminating food.
Tropodo, Indonesia Black smoke billows from smokestacks towering above the village. The smell of burning plastic fills the air. Patches of black ash cover the ground. It’s another day of making tofu.
This summary of Plastic Waste Poisons Indonesia's Food Chain provides an overview of the alarmingly high levels of dioxins as a result of plastic incineration. These dioxins are poisoning food networks and the environment. The plastics being incinerated are being imported along with waste papers into Indonesia and other countries, and in Tropodo and Bangun are being used to fuel steam generators used to make tofu.