Following China’s ban on import of plastic wastes, a lot of them are coming instead to Viet Nam, but with consignees failing to claim shipments, the wastes are piling up at ports including in HCM City.

As of late May 389 containers arriving in 6,801 consignments are lying in ports for more than 90 days without being claimed by their owners, a customs official told Nguoi lao dong (The labourer) newspaper.

According to a Ministry of Finance circular, goods left unclaimed for more than 90 days at ports could be seized and sold.

Cat Lai Port in District 2 has 307 containers and 448 parcels while Tan Son Nhat international airport and the express customs branch have 1,949 and 4,384 parcels.

A customs official at Cat Lai Port said an increasing number of consignments have been piling up at ports for more than 90 days since the beginning of this year.

The reason was China’s ban on import of plastic scrap from the EU, the US and Japan this year, who are now sending it to Southeast Asian countries, including Viet Nam, he said.

But related agencies impose restrictions on import of wastes, meaning customs authorities are unable to process their entry, he said.

Goods are also stuck at ports because consignees do not claim them.

A recent examination of containers on an abandoned consignment at Cat Lai Port turned up more than 100 air-conditioners, 270 bicycles and bicycle parts. Most of them are used products whose imports are banned.

They have been sent to a company in Tan Phu District.

According to the customs department, transport companies and related agencies should co-operate by providing details of consignments to help identify the owners of goods and speed up the clearance of unclaimed goods.

When the owners of abandoned goods are untraceable, the department has to bear the cost of destroying them.

For this reason, the department called for assigning greater responsibility to transport companies and exporters in the case of unclaimed goods since.

The destruction also affects the environment, it said.

It sought severe punishment for import of waste and prohibited products into Viet Nam to reduce the pile-up of goods at ports. — VNS