There are at least 200,000 tons of used batteries illegally recycled here annually. A recycling plant located not far from residential areas could bring adverse effects to the environment and the health.
In a hot afternoon in Jakarta, footsteps of a handful of workers were heard from a battery recycling plant in Tanjung Priok area, North Jakarta. Some children were also seen running around in a small field not far from the plant.
Rastam (not a real name), 32, was seen sitting in front of his house, patting himself on his thighs to clean up residual ash sticking on his pants. He was wearing a singlet; the color of which already wore-off, no longer white. The East Java-born man had been working at the plant for four years. He lived approximately 500 meters away from the recycling plant.
Mr. Rastam worked at the plant from morning until late afternoon. When business is peaking, he would have to work until late at night. He and other workers would do many things, from collecting, to sorting and burning the used batteries.
At the outset, those seem to be normal activities. However, when the process of burning starts, thick black smoke with heavy odor akin to the smell of burning tires would burst into the air. This is certainly hazardous to the surroundings.
The business of recycling used batteries could produce lead to be used as the raw material for many industries, such as batteries, electronics, paints, and glass. The profit from this business is quite significant: per month one could pocket 30 to 40 million rupiahs, at an initial venture of around Rp. 20 million. No wonder there are so many such factories existing here, operating without any proper business licenses. Their location is usually close to residential areas; some are even located at the back of houses.
Without the necessary technology and facilities that are environmentally friendly, this could actually lead to a catastrophy. Not only would it be dangerous to the environment, it would also threaten the health as the smoke contains heavy metal residues of lead (Pb).
This has lead to an action taken by a Committee to Eliminate Leaded Gasoline (KPBB in its Indonesian abbreviation). The NGO’s Executive Director, Ahmad Safrudin, stated that among the impacts of the plant’s residue to human, it could decrease intelligence quotients, disrupt the nervous system and cause disability.
A case which was brought into attention was of the recycling of used batteries in Cinangka village in Bogor, West Java. For decades, the village’s residents have been forced to breathe air contaminated with smoke from the illegal recycling of used batteries. KPBB noted that there were at least four locations where illegal recycling had taken place in Cinangka. The smoke caused by the burning of used batteries could reach a radius of 3 kilometers. The activities have actually been carried out in Cinangka since 1978. This was stopped completely in 2010, and only done again during the last three years.
It is recorded that Cinangka residents born in the 80’s and the 90’s have suffered physical disabilities and even mental disorders. Many adults are recorded to experience upper respiratory infections, damages to brain function, kidney failure, high blood pressure, heart disease, and paralysis. To women, they can have disrupted menstrual or miscarriage.
The lead level there could reach 270,000 parts per million (ppm); far above the WHO safe standard at only 400 ppm. The Pb level in the blood samples of the population also showed a surprising fact: with children the lowest content was of 16.2 mcg/dL to the highest of 65 mcg/dL, nearly seven times higher than WHO’s safety limits of 10 mg/dL.
Recently, the KPBB together with the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as Forum Bela Lingkungan, another concerned NGO, offered a solution to clean the affected areas from B3 waste, be it in the streets, alleys, school grounds, fields, farms, riverbanks by means of burying B3 waste in an underground container.
“The container will be in two layers: the first is coated with clay and geomembrane that can hold up to 500 years. Sludge, drill powder, mud, lead slag and B3 waste contaminated soil can be dredged and then buried,” said Mr. Safrudin. This method has now been implemented in Cinangka. He hoped that soon such a method could also be implemented in other areas.
The method has the potential to solve the problem. In addition to being easy to apply, it is inexpensive. The placement of the container will be below the surface of a football-field size area, added with clay and geomembrane layers to hold the waste from leaking. Above the geomembrane layer, it will also be coated with porous soil and limestone sand to neutralize the possible acidity of the isolated waste.
“To make it functional, the surface above can be used as a sports field or planted with fibrous roots which are relatively short-lived,” he added. The technology, according to him, is mandated by the Law No. 32 of 2009 on the Protection and Management of the Environment and the Government Regulation No. 101 of 2014 on B3 Waste Management.
“For instance, if the local governments fail to take action upon learning that there is illegally used batteries smelting activity in their area, they could be criminalized. The effects (of such illegal activity) are actually there to see, such as sick residents and damaged environment,” he said.
Although currently the condition in Cinangka has improved and the facilities to recycle used batteries are already closed, Mr. Safrudin expect the government also introduce a regulation to close illegal battery recycling in other areas as well. “To prevent recurrence of similar cases, there need to be a one-door regulation. The used batteries should be returned to the distributor where the vehicle was purchased, to be further processed at any licensed smelters only,” added Mr. Safrudin.
Besides in Cinangka, the recycling of used batteries is also flourishing in approximately 70 other sites spread in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi areas. Mr. Safrudin explained that such a practice was mostly found in industrial areas such as Jakarta, Cikarang, Tangerang and Bogor. “Most are found in there, and also in Medan, Batam, Palembang, Tegal, Lamongan and Pasuruan,” he explained.
Supply Chain Must Be Eliminated
Mr. Safrudin further stated that the profession of junkmen was crucial as part of the supply chain to provide used batteries to the plants illegally. Usually, after replacing the battery, residents would sell used batteries to a junkman. The used batteries would be accommodated by a middleman, who would then pass the goods into the hands of illegal smelters.
Within a year, there are at least 310 thousand tons of used batteries on the market. However, those absorbed by legal entities are only 108 thousand tons. This means that approximately 200,000 tons of them are lost or recycled illegally. “At present there are only three legal companies, with total capacity of 108 thousand tons,” detailed Mr. Safrudin.
He was suspicious that the illegal recycling of used batteries had been blossoming since this was originated from the legal entities. He admitted to having heard that the three companies had been overwhelmed with requests to process the used batteries legally, and that they handed-over the task to anyone willing to do the jobs. “The lead (from the process) would then be distributed back to the (three) companies,” he explained. In Jakarta alone, he said, there were about 200 facilities illegally recorded and 71 identified.
Through the KPBB and over the support from the Ministry of Environment, Mr. Safrudin arranged some talks with the companies producing batteries in order for them to be more responsible to absorb the used batteries (to be further processed). He explained that according to the Law No. 18 of 2008 on Waste Management, manufacturers of packaging or goods must also be responsible for their waste items.
“Many are still objecting. There are also those willing but requesting for a period of up to 10 years. This is too long. Ideally, the transition period is only within one year,” he explained. After several discussions, there are now 17 companies in the process of the approval of withdrawing the used batteries.
