Indonesia aims to eliminate mercury and toxic chemicals by 2030
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Deputy Minister of the Environment and Forestry, Diaz, confirmed Indonesia’s commitment to eliminating mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) across the country.
He stated that using mercury is illegal and dangerous, but it continues to appear in medical devices and small-scale gold mining operations. Diaz asked law enforcement to work with waste management companies like PT Wastec and PT PPLI to address the issue. The Ministry of Environment has already collected 81,236 medical devices containing mercury from 22 provinces.
Indonesia intends to eliminate mercury by 2030 and PCBs by 2028, in line with the Stockholm Convention, an international environmental treaty. Both PT Wastec International and PT Prasadha Pamunah Limbah Industri are expected to continue developing safe methods for managing hazardous waste. Diaz also explained that phasing out PCBs, formerly used in electrical equipment, faces challenges due to bureaucratic delays and the expense of transportation.
His ministry is working on solutions to help owners of equipment containing PCBs comply with regulations. The government issued Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation No. 29 of 2020, which set the 2028 deadline for phasing out PCBs.
