(10-02-2009)
HCM CITY — Hundreds of tonnes of scrap, much of it toxic, has been pouring into Viet Nam from Cambodia through the southwestern border with few authorities monitoring it.
Trucks loaded with used bottles, nylon bags, old paper, even plastic barrels containing chemicals arrive at the Tinh Bien Border Gate, headed for An Giang and Dong Thap provinces.
A boat owner said: "I deliver 25 tonnes of batteries four times a month."
Many other boats, each with a capacity of 25 to 40 tonnes delivered 1,000 tonnes of iron and steel and other scrap every month, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reported.
Drivers said the scrap was collected from around Cambodia because there were few recycling facilities there.
In Viet Nam, which has more and more such facilities, especially for metal scrap, demand for them was huge.
In Tan Quoi Commune, Dong Thap Province, there are 29 household businesses that recycle nylon.
"At first there were only a few households but then more and more joined and imported scrap mainly from Cambodia," Tan Quoi chairman Nguyen Van Dung said.
A Vietnamese-Cambodian said: "Thamau in Ta Keo Province on the Cambodian side is full of old electronic goods that will be sorted and transported to Chau Doc Town [in Viet Nam]."
Poor monitoring
Some customs officials at the Tinh Bien Border Gate said dozens of tonnes of scrap passed through the gate daily.
In the past few years many cases of illegal import of banned scrap materials have been discovered.
The An Giang Market Management Department has seized 7,785kg of scrap in packages and 4,570kg of nylon bags.
Tran Bui Tai, an An Giang Province customs official, said officials at the Vinh Xuong Border Gate confiscated 200 tonnes of old tyres.
But all this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
"Checking at the border gates is merely for the sake of formality," a person who transports scrap said. — VNS
HCM CITY — Hundreds of tonnes of scrap, much of it toxic, has been pouring into Viet Nam from Cambodia through the southwestern border with few authorities monitoring it.
Trucks loaded with used bottles, nylon bags, old paper, even plastic barrels containing chemicals arrive at the Tinh Bien Border Gate, headed for An Giang and Dong Thap provinces.
A boat owner said: "I deliver 25 tonnes of batteries four times a month."
Many other boats, each with a capacity of 25 to 40 tonnes delivered 1,000 tonnes of iron and steel and other scrap every month, Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reported.
Drivers said the scrap was collected from around Cambodia because there were few recycling facilities there.
In Viet Nam, which has more and more such facilities, especially for metal scrap, demand for them was huge.
In Tan Quoi Commune, Dong Thap Province, there are 29 household businesses that recycle nylon.
"At first there were only a few households but then more and more joined and imported scrap mainly from Cambodia," Tan Quoi chairman Nguyen Van Dung said.
A Vietnamese-Cambodian said: "Thamau in Ta Keo Province on the Cambodian side is full of old electronic goods that will be sorted and transported to Chau Doc Town [in Viet Nam]."
Poor monitoring
Some customs officials at the Tinh Bien Border Gate said dozens of tonnes of scrap passed through the gate daily.
In the past few years many cases of illegal import of banned scrap materials have been discovered.
The An Giang Market Management Department has seized 7,785kg of scrap in packages and 4,570kg of nylon bags.
Tran Bui Tai, an An Giang Province customs official, said officials at the Vinh Xuong Border Gate confiscated 200 tonnes of old tyres.
But all this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
"Checking at the border gates is merely for the sake of formality," a person who transports scrap said. — VNS
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