Vietnam to Reclaim Electronic Waste from July 2016

Waste and dumped electronics products in Vietnam will be required to be reclaimed for treatment under a new regulation slated to take effect on July 1, 2016. The products include compact fluorescent lamps, personal computers, laptops, cameras, video cameras, cellphones, tablets, batteries, tires, and major home appliances including television sets, fridges, air-conditioners and washing machines. Manufacturers are responsible for reclaiming their products, or for setting up places for consumers to dump the electronic wastes instead of throwing them out into the environment. The manufacturers are also encouraged to reclaim even products they do not make, whereas consumers are required to give away their dumped products to the producers.
The regulation, however, has received a mixed response from members of the public. Some of them doubt the feasibility of the rule as it is not a simple task to reclaim all of the electronic wastes in the country. They are also skeptical of whether the manufacturers will really take action to reclaim their used products. On the other hand, many supporters say the rule is necessary to prevent Vietnam from becoming a landfill of electronic waste. (http://baodientu.chinhphu.vn/ May 26, Tuoi Tre – Youth May 28 p7)