More than 500 containers of waste have been repatriated by Vietnamese customs officials up to June 2019.
Vietnam Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan revealed that local customs authorities have asked shipping lines to return 503 containers of waste between September 2018 and June 2019.
This follows the introduction of new regulations in September 2019.
Of the 503 containers of waste, 289 were filled with plastic scrap, 106 had paper in them, 98 of iron and steel with 10 containing other materials.
At a meeting chaired by the Deputy Minister, the representative from the General Department of Customs reported that shipping lines had been slow to ship these containers out of the country.
He called for shipping lines that do not return containers to no longer have further permits granted by the Ministry of Transport.
Minister Vo Tuan Nhan said that his department was requesting Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance to review and provide a list of organisations and individuals that are importing scrap that have violated the country’s regulations. If they have failed to carry out re-export procedures, and not provided correct paperwork, they should be deprived of their import certification.
He also called on other government ministries to continue to review the regulations, including a potential ban on imports or conditional ban on imports of waste materials.
The Minister also called on customs authorities to propose measures to strengthen the control of imports of recycled materials.
