Large quantities of toxic waste and raw materials for industrial production are illegally imported into Vietnam every year, and authorities admit they have been unable to handle the situation. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen said the waste import has become a big problem and the existing monitoring and penalty regime has not been able to curb this. The volume of illegally-imported waste found and the number of violations are insignificant and make it harder to treat solid wastes, he highlighted. Nguyen Tien Luc, deputy head of the Environmental Crime Prevention and Fighting Police Department, said the government has decided to disallow the temporary imports of certain types of goods for re-export. But lax oversight means many transport companies continue to carry goods that have been temporarily banned or restricted, including used household equipment, secondhand rubber tires, and frozen chicken legs and wings, he said. Experts said regulations do not clearly distinguish between scrap used as raw materials in manufacturing and waste. Thus, many companies take advantage of this to import large quantities of toxic waste. In recent years, official agencies have found more than 200 cases of import of toxic and industrial wastes. They have demanded them to re-export or destroy 325 tons of wastes, 3,150 tons of plastic scrap, 10,000 tones of steel scrap, and 6,200 tons of used lead-acid batteries, according to the department. (Vietnam News Sept 3 p3)
