Indonesia Sending Back 547 Containers of Waste From West

Indonesia Sending Back 547 Containers of Waste From West
A worker shows plastic waste at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sept. 18, 2019. Achmad Ibrahim/AP
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JAKARTA, Indonesia—Indonesia is sending 547 containers of waste back to wealthy nations after discovering the receptacles were contaminated with used plastic and hazardous materials, amid a growing backlash in Southeast Asia against being a dumping ground for the developed world’s trash.

Nine containers with at least 135 tons of waste were sent back to Australia on Sept. 18, customs director Heru Pambudi said at a news conference in Jakarta.