Indonesia-U.S. Trade Agreement Raises Concerns Over Potential E-Waste Dumping
- Jun 8
- 2 min read
The Reciprocal Trade Agreement between Indonesia and the United States includes a commitment to develop facilities for recovering critical minerals from electronic waste. Although the initiative is framed as supporting the circular economy, some analysts warn of potential risks. Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Executive Director Bhima Yudhistira stated that the policy could open the possibility of Indonesia becoming a destination for global e-waste disposal, particularly if recycling facilities are developed with foreign assistance while increasing the inflow of waste from other countries. These concerns arise because Indonesia’s e-waste management capacity remains limited. In 2023 alone, domestic electronic waste generation reached approximately 2.1 million tons, with most of it still handled by the informal sector.
Meanwhile, global data from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) shows that worldwide e-waste generation reached around 62 million tons in 2022, nearly double the amount recorded in 2010, while only about 22.3 percent was officially documented as properly recycled. The issue of illegal e-waste trafficking also remains a challenge, as evidenced by the discovery of 73 containers of illegal electronic waste from the United States at Batu Ampar Port in Batam last year. Civil society organizations have raised concerns about the lack of transparency in handling the case and have urged the government to ensure that illegal waste is returned to its country of origin. This situation highlights the importance of strengthening Indonesia’s e-waste governance as international cooperation on critical mineral recovery continues to expand.
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