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Indonesia says it has shipped back tonnes of Australia waste

Eight containers of trash have reportedly left Indonesia and are on their way back to Australia.

imported waste

An Indonesian customs officer holds up reading material from a container filled with trash originating from Australia. Source: JUNI KRISWANTO/AFP/Getty Images

Indonesia has shipped tonnes of Australian garbage out of the country as Southeast Asian nations push back against serving as dumping grounds for foreign trash.

Eight containers of trash - weighing some 210 tonnes - left Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya on Monday aboard a cargo ship bound for Singapore, the local customs agency said on Tuesday.

The move comes less than a week after Australia pledged to stop exporting recyclable waste amid global concerns about plastic polluting the oceans and increasing pushback from Asian nations against accepting trash.

Last month, Indonesia said it would return the Australian rubbish after authorities found hazardous material and household trash, including used diapers and electronic waste, in containers meant to only hold waste paper.

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