POISON called fertilizer. This was the recollection of Galang Island residents about the arrival of hundreds of tons of black-colored fertilizer into their area around five years ago. After organizing protests the “fertilizer” was finally removed from Galang. Residents succeeded in forcing the government and PT Asia Pacific Eco Lestari (Apel)—the importer—to send the toxic materials back to Singapore.

The case of the “fertilizer but po