November 30, 2025 | 10:30 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The facade of Esun International Utama Indonesia’s factory in the Horizon Industrial Park, Sagulung subdistrict, Batam, Riau Islands, remains unchanged. On Friday morning, November 21, 2025, piles of white sacks stacked higher than the metal fence around the warehouse were still visible from the street. More heaps of sacks towered behind the recycling company’s gate.
A week earlier, on Wednesday, November 12, Tempo also visited the facility. The company has come under fire for allegedly importing electronic waste illegally. The Directorate-General of Customs, working with the Ministry of Environment, has temporarily halted the company’s imports. Yet several employees said operations continued as usual despite the legal troubles.
“Our job is to unload and sort the contents of those sacks,” one Esun employee told Tempo near the factory area on November 12. The workers requested anonymity.
The sacks contain a variety of discarded electronics, primarily computers and laptops. Their job is to disassemble, cut up, and sort the devices. After removing the casing, they separate internal wiring. The motherboards, they explained, are the most prized components.
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