Vietnam is no longer accepting imports of paper and plastic scrap because its main marine terminals are congested, according to a letter to customers of Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Terminal and Tan Cang-Cai Mep Thi Vai Terminal, both owned by Saigon Newport Corporation, released by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries on May 23.
The decision was reported on world leading newswires on trade and navigation including the Journal of Commerce, Lloyd’s List and The Loadstar.
Reasons behind the unusual trash flow
Waste backlog and congestion have been seen in Vietnam’s seaports recently. Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City is a stark example, where nearly 3,000 containers of waste have overstayed their clearance periods by 90 days.
This is due to an unusual flow of trash to the country, that results from a change in China’s trade policy. The Asian power in July 2017 announced a ban on certain imports including 24 kinds of solid waste, mostly plastic and paper. The ban took effect last September.
For years China was the world's top destination for recyclable trash, but the ban has left nations from the US to Europe scrambling to find new dumping grounds for growing piles of garbage and Vietnam has become one of their destinations.
Vietnam imported 40 million pounds of recovered plastics worth US$5.8 million from the US in the first quarter of 2018, making it one of the US’s largest scrap plastic buyers, Resource Recycling Inc. quoted the US Census Bureau as saying. Meanwhile, the waste imports to Vietnam from the US in 2017 increased by 240% compared to the same period last year, Journal of Commerce reported.
The question is how the country manages to optimize the chances as well minimize the side-effects from the increasing waste flow.
Efforts made and more measures needed
During the last National Assembly Session, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said that despite many regulation on waste import management, those products still get in the countries in illegal ways.
At the signing ceremony of Code of Conduct on Combating Plastic Pollution in June 2018, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh said that the ministrywas conducting numerous measures to control the supervision, collection and disposal of plastic waste.
“Related agencies have looked into the issue and we can wait for the upcoming specific measures," said Thanh.
Over the current congestion, the authority is eyeing many ways to reduce the waste flow. A customs expert who refused to reveal his identity said that shortcomings are still found in legal framework, leading to trash fluxing to Vietnam. The country still needs plastic and paper waste for production. Therefore, to limit the flow in an effective way, a minimum price for each package of waste should be imposed to ensure their recycling value once imported to Vietnam, he recommended.
Meanwhile, some Vietnamese carriers (shipping lines) affirmed more control is needed on the imported waste. The government can, for example, requests 100% of the waste to be recycled at the firm’s factory. Meanwhile, others noted that the real import volume of waste should be clear and controlled to avoid the situation in which they are resold at higher prices. Strict punishments should be applied to enterprises that delay in delivering the waste imports at seaports, they said.
Some Vietnamese related agencies decided to say no to waste imports. As stated by Dinh Ngoc Thang, Head of Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City, this agency has stopped welcoming waste imports in border checkpoints. “The scenario of Vietnam turning into global landfill should be blocked”, he said.
Besides, Tran Viet Anh, Deputy Head of the Rubber-Plastic Association of Ho Chi Minh City proposed the squeeze in importing policy of waste, junk. “A mechanism to ban junk importers that delay in delivery their goods at sea ports should be imposed”, Anh stressed.
The decision was reported on world leading newswires on trade and navigation including the Journal of Commerce, Lloyd’s List and The Loadstar.
Cat Lai port
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Waste backlog and congestion have been seen in Vietnam’s seaports recently. Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City is a stark example, where nearly 3,000 containers of waste have overstayed their clearance periods by 90 days.
This is due to an unusual flow of trash to the country, that results from a change in China’s trade policy. The Asian power in July 2017 announced a ban on certain imports including 24 kinds of solid waste, mostly plastic and paper. The ban took effect last September.
For years China was the world's top destination for recyclable trash, but the ban has left nations from the US to Europe scrambling to find new dumping grounds for growing piles of garbage and Vietnam has become one of their destinations.
Vietnam imported 40 million pounds of recovered plastics worth US$5.8 million from the US in the first quarter of 2018, making it one of the US’s largest scrap plastic buyers, Resource Recycling Inc. quoted the US Census Bureau as saying. Meanwhile, the waste imports to Vietnam from the US in 2017 increased by 240% compared to the same period last year, Journal of Commerce reported.
The question is how the country manages to optimize the chances as well minimize the side-effects from the increasing waste flow.
Efforts made and more measures needed
During the last National Assembly Session, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said that despite many regulation on waste import management, those products still get in the countries in illegal ways.
At the signing ceremony of Code of Conduct on Combating Plastic Pollution in June 2018, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh said that the ministrywas conducting numerous measures to control the supervision, collection and disposal of plastic waste.
“Related agencies have looked into the issue and we can wait for the upcoming specific measures," said Thanh.
Over the current congestion, the authority is eyeing many ways to reduce the waste flow. A customs expert who refused to reveal his identity said that shortcomings are still found in legal framework, leading to trash fluxing to Vietnam. The country still needs plastic and paper waste for production. Therefore, to limit the flow in an effective way, a minimum price for each package of waste should be imposed to ensure their recycling value once imported to Vietnam, he recommended.
Meanwhile, some Vietnamese carriers (shipping lines) affirmed more control is needed on the imported waste. The government can, for example, requests 100% of the waste to be recycled at the firm’s factory. Meanwhile, others noted that the real import volume of waste should be clear and controlled to avoid the situation in which they are resold at higher prices. Strict punishments should be applied to enterprises that delay in delivering the waste imports at seaports, they said.
Some Vietnamese related agencies decided to say no to waste imports. As stated by Dinh Ngoc Thang, Head of Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City, this agency has stopped welcoming waste imports in border checkpoints. “The scenario of Vietnam turning into global landfill should be blocked”, he said.
Besides, Tran Viet Anh, Deputy Head of the Rubber-Plastic Association of Ho Chi Minh City proposed the squeeze in importing policy of waste, junk. “A mechanism to ban junk importers that delay in delivery their goods at sea ports should be imposed”, Anh stressed.
