VietNamNet Bridge - The government is controlling illegal waste imports with a heavy hand, forcing the re-export of substandard scrap imports.

Vietnam vows to prevent waste imports

The Prime Minister has released Directive No 27 on urgent measures to control the import and use of import scrap as input materials for domestic production. 

Appropriate agencies have been instructed not to grant licenses to import scrap for preliminary processing and sale, and to force importers to re-export the substandard imports.

The decision was released after port authorities repeatedly complained about the increasingly high volume of uncleared ownerless containers of waste imports. Because of this, all operations of the ports have reached a deadlock, causing big damages to businesses.

The majority of the imports are ‘rubbish’, with low quality and high risks to the environment. Meanwhile, it will take trillions of dong to burn down the waste.

Nguyen Thanh Son, an independent economist, commented that the government’s decision shows its determination to prevent waste imports and protect the country from becoming a dumping ground for the world.

Along with strict requirements to increase the quality of waste imports, Son believes that it is necessary to make the best of domestic waste sources.

Vietnam is an emerging market with industries in strong development, especially coal-fired thermal power and mining.

To some extent, industrial waste could be seen as a meter that measures the development of a production. It can be recycled to reuse for many purposes.

“The waste from thermal power plants and mining sites in Vietnam has high quality. The former Soviet Union called the waste as the ‘secondary minerals’, generated during the factories’ operation,” Son said.

For solid waste, it can be reused as part of input materials and additives for many industries. Iron, coal ash and slag, for example, can be used as an additive for cement production or building materials.

Meanwhile, straw, leaves, wood and shavings could be a very good source of fuel, and can be fed to cattle and fish.

Son affirmed that the titanium content in ash and slag at thermal power plants is large, equal to the titanimum content at Binh Thuan’s reserves. If Vietnam can take full advantage of the ash and slag, it will have a plentiful source of materials, so there is no need to import materials from other countries.

Salvaging domestic scrap sources can help settle three problems at the same time. First, manufacturers won’t have to import scrap as they can find the scrap in Vietnam with a lower price. Second, the waste can be treated which helps ease the pressure on the environment. Third, this allows for recycling of materials on the spot, contributing to economic development.

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