Several soil mounds containing hazardous and toxic (B3) waste have been found near the Marunda low-cost apartments in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

The Jakarta Environment Agency conducted tests to verify that the mounds contained waste following reports from the public.

“After we checked, [the soil] was similar to spent bleaching earth, which is classified as category 2 B3 waste,” Rusliyanto, the agency's head of the reports and dispute settlements unit, said on Friday as reported by kompas.com.

Spent bleaching earth is a chemical derived from bleaching crude palm oil.

He explained that, according to a 2014 government regulation on the management of hazardous and toxic waste, category 2 waste is defined as having a delayed and indirect effect on humans and the environment.

The mounds look like regular soil mounds. However, their soil is more crumbly and clay-like and they emit a pungent smell.

Rusliyanto urged local residents to keep their distance from the mounds as the waste could bring in unwanted health impacts. He also called for residents to not use the soil for any purposes.

The agency is still looking for the perpetrators who dumped the waste in the area. A sample of the soil was brought to the agency’s lab for further testing.

Mahmudin, the environment task force head in Cilincing district, said local residents began to notice the presence of the mounds in recent months and had been complaining about a foul smell.