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E-waste imports crisis in Batam
Batam, one of over 2,000 islands in the Riau Islands near Singapore, came into the limelight in September 2025 when it was revealed that PT Esun was illegally importing e-waste from the US to Indonesia. The then Minister of Environment attempted to visit the facility, but his visit to the factory was famously thwarted2.
By April 2026, the number of seized suspect containers at Batu Ampar Port had ballooned to 914, and two other importing facilities, PT Logam Internasional Jaya (PT Logam) and PT Batam Battery Recycle Industries (PT Batam Battery), had also been implicated in the likely illegal imports. The government reportedly promised to hold the companies accountable and to repatriate the containers, in line with provisions for illegally trafficked waste controlled under the Basel Convention. However, the government dramatically changed their plans soon after, claiming they would destroy the e-waste on the island itself3.
The Jakarta Post reported that the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) made the decision based on an inspection of one container, which found less than 5 per cent of hazardous wastes. Wastes not categorised as hazardous were to be returned to the importer4.
E-waste imports violate Basel Convention
BP Batam’s decision to return the wastes to the importer is highly suspicious, as the Basel Convention is not concerned with whether the e-wastes are hazardous.
Under the Basel Convention’s E-Waste Amendments,5 effective 1 January 2025, all e-waste imports, including whole equipment, components, and waste residues, must be strictly controlled. No such e-waste, hazardous or not, can be imported from the US because the US is not a Party to the Convention.
Thus, under the Amendments, all other countries seeking to export e-waste to Indonesia can only do so if the exporting country notifies Indonesia about the shipments prior to sending them, and the Indonesian government gives consent officially, on a shipment-by-shipment basis. Similarly, exports of e-waste from Indonesia can only move with such notification and consent, and cannot move to non-Parties such as the US, nor to countries that have banned the import of e-waste according to national laws.
Trade data shows likely illegal e-waste importation from the United States
Trade data reported by the Indonesian government itself show hundreds of shipments each month in 2025, until April of this year, arriving at PT Esun, PT Logam and PT Batam Battery, with most coming from the US. On occasion, these importing companies, which presumably had their import licenses revoked, used proper HS codes for e-wastes. These should have indicated to the government that the containers held e-wastes and are illegal. Nevertheless, the imports were allowed to continue.
“Why were these facilities allowed to continue importing e-wastes after their permits were rightly revoked in January due to their blatant violation of international law? Why is the government condoning such obvious violations of the Basel Convention?,” asked Daru Setyorini, founder and executive director of Ecoton.
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