The Da Nang administration Wednesday fined a companyVND100 million (US$4,800) for importingmore than 137 tons of plastic waste into the city's port. Phong Bac, a private company exporting handicrafts to Taiwan, imported the waste from Japan on June 13. The waste was discovered a week later when the city's environment police checked the containers. The city has not announced what it would do with the waste. In late 2010, a raft of such garbage imports were found in major ports including Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City, prompting officials to warn that Vietnam could become a dumping ground for other countries if the illegal importation of toxic waste was not stopped. The companies were paid by other countries to clear their waste, resulting in the import of all sorts of waste, although the law only allows for the importation of scrap metal that directly serves production purposes. A company in Ho Chi Minh City was brought to court in 2010 for illegally importing 140 tons of … [Read more...] about Vietnam firm fined for importing plastic waste
Plastic waste
Company head taken to court for importing plastic waste
Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday asked prosecutors to press charges against a company director for importing plastic waste into the country. Phu Thi Thu Nguyet, director of Kim Thu Binh Commerce, Import and Export, Ltd. in Dong Nai Province, was not arrested as she has a little baby. The police in March found more than 170 tons of dirty, used plastic bags and other kinds of package at a warehouse belonging to Long Vo, Ltd. in HCMC. The waste was to be sold to Kim Vien Dong Plastic Joint Stock Company, also based in the city. Investigations show that Kim Thu Binh had imported the waste while declaring in February at the Saigon Port that it was importing 140 tons of scrap metal, which is in many cases legal, from an Auspac Trading Company in Australia. The shipment was kept in five containers and they made their way out of the port although the customs workers there claimed they had checked the containers manually. Nguyet said her company had earlier imported another … [Read more...] about Company head taken to court for importing plastic waste
Weak recyclers leave Vietnam’s daily plastic waste at 2,500 tons
Vietnam discharges more than 2,500 tons of plastic waste every day, according to a survey released in Ho Chi Minh City Friday. Saigon Tiep Thi reported. There are several plastic bag recyclers in Vietnam, but they are operating on a small scale, with simple and out-of-date technologies that often pollute the environment, the survey said. Many of the recycling plants are located in residential areas, according to the survey. Participants at the seminar said that producers and recyclers of plastic goods do not have much money to invest in technologies that are safer for the environment. They face difficulties in accessing funds and do not benefit from convenient policies for operation, the officials said. Hoang Duong Tung, deputy head of Vietnam Environment Administration, called for a national research project to come up with a plan for dealing with the huge number of plastic bags and goods wasted every day. Tung said the public should be made aware that using plastic … [Read more...] about Weak recyclers leave Vietnam’s daily plastic waste at 2,500 tons
Recycling plastic waste can save $1 bln every year: experts
Vietnam can save nearly US$1 billion a year if plastic waste is recycled effectively at home, cutting the need for imports, experts say. The Vietnam Plastic Association estimates that if 35-50 percent of plastic is recycled, businesses won't have to spend the $2.5 billion every year importing raw materials to make plastic products. Also, selling prices of end products can fall by as much as 15 percent cheaper. According to the Waste Recycling Fund, plastic waste accounts for the second largest component of solid waste in urban areas after food. However this plastic waste has not been recycled properly. Only 10 percent of the waste is collected by scrap dealers every year. HCMC gets about 250,000 tons of new plastic a year, and around 48,000 tons of plastic waste is discharged or buried, the fund estimates. It found that last year, there were 648 small and medium plastic recycling plants are operating in the city, some for more than 30 years, but most carried very … [Read more...] about Recycling plastic waste can save $1 bln every year: experts
UK plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042
The government wants supermarkets to introduce plastic-free aisles and intends to inject new funding into plastics innovation, she will say in a speech outlining proposals.Meanwhile changes to the tax system and charges on single-use plastic items such as takeaway containers will also be considered, according to May’s Downing Street office, which released a preview of her remarks."In years to come, I think people will be shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly," May will say."One million birds, and over 100,000 other sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste. One in three fish caught in the English Channel contains pieces of plastic."This truly is one of the great environmental scourges of our time."However, opposition leaders and environmental campaigners were quick to condemn the proposals as dangerously insufficient.Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, the fourth-biggest party in parliament, … [Read more...] about UK plans to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by 2042