Waste

Waste management across Merdeka Copper Gold’s mining operations is carried out to prevent air, soil, and water pollution, as well as to avoid negative impacts on the surrounding communities. Waste management is conducted by adhering to the management procedures outlined in the Environmental Management Plan and the Environmental Monitoring Plan. Merdeka has established a complaint mechanism, procedures, and infrastructure in the event of waste leaks as a mitigation measure for potential environmental incidents.

In each operation, the Merdeka Group inevitably generates solid waste, which consists of hazardous (B3) and non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste (B3) is managed by sending it to licensed treatment and utilization facilities for disposal and recycling. Non-hazardous waste, including domestic waste, is managed through the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) program, either conducted internally by each mining operation or in collaboration with licensed third parties and the local community. All non-hazardous waste that cannot be utilized is sent to the Final Processing Site (TPA).

The food waste from the Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine is used as food for maggots (Photo: Anggung Setiawan/BSI).

In the management of both B3 and non-B3 waste, the Merdeka Group also adopts the 3R approach (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). A portion of the B3 waste, including the Beginning Balance (waste that could not be processed by the end of the reporting year), is recycled by licensed processors, while another portion is sent to third parties. The remaining waste will be processed after the reporting period.

The reported combined volume of hazardous waste in the 2022 Sustainability Report is derived from the Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine, Wetar Copper Mine, AIM Project, and Konawe Nickel Project (Table 1).

Table 1. Hazardous and Toxic Waste in 2022.

During 2022, at the Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine, all non-hazardous (non-B3) waste, including used cardboard, food scraps, wood waste, cooking oil, and used tires, was successfully recycled, except for food packaging waste. Out of a total of 8.9 tons, 8.3 tons of food packaging waste were successfully recycled, and the remaining 0.6 tons that couldn’t be utilized were sent to the Final Processing Site (TPA). The Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine successfully converted all wood waste into 15 tons of compost.

In 2022, the Wetar Copper Mine managed to reuse all the used cooking oil, totaling 8.524 tons. A small portion of kitchen waste and non-organic waste was successfully reused, while the majority was sent to the TPA. Throughout 2022, the Konawe Nikel Project sent almost all non-hazardous waste (organic and inorganic kitchen waste) to the TPA (Table 2).