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JAKARTA Having already declared coal ash non-hazardous waste, the Indonesian government now wants to turn it into bricks that will be used for coral transplantation projects, prompting an outcry from environmental advocates. The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries announced on Nov. 19 a deal with coal power plant operator PT Pembangkitan Jawa […] ....
View of collapsed coal ash impoundment and closed power plant in North Carolina that caused the 2014 Dan river coal ash spill. Photo: U.S. environmental protection agency/Wikimedia Commons The Indonesian government has declared coal ash is no longer a hazardous waste product, despite containing heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic, in a nod to industry efforts for greater deregulation. Fly ash and bottom ash from the burning of coal in power plants or other industrial facilities are now deemed inert or non-hazardous waste, under a new government regulation issued February 2. The regulation is a derivative of the so-called omnibus law on job creation a controversial package of deregulation measures passed by parliament last October that activists warned would serve the interests of the mining and “dirty energy” industry. ....
Never mind the mercury: Indonesia says coal ash isn’t hazardous by Basten Gokkon on 11 March 2021 The Indonesian government has taken fly ash and bottom ash from coal burning out of its list of hazardous waste. The distinction is crucial as the handling of “hazardous” waste is subject to different and far more stringent regulations than non-hazardous waste. The delisting comes in response to lobbying efforts by industry groups, which want to be allowed to sell coal ash to the construction industry. Indonesia is one of the world’s top coal producers, and the fossil fuel accounts for the majority of the country’s power generation. ....