Strict rules in the Second-hand Products Ordinance. Diana Buzoianu: “Romania is not a garbage dump”
The Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, announced on Friday that a draft Emergency Ordinance establishing stricter rules for second-hand products was submitted to public debate. The Minister of the Environment says that no clothes, no furniture, no equipment must enter the Romanian market without being cleaned, disinfected and certified beforehand by an authorized operator.
Sales of second-hand clothes PHOTO: Frepik
“Romania is not a garbage dump! Waste should not enter the country with the false label of second-hand products and then end up in the field or burned illegally. For too many years, our country has been treated as a convenient destination for used, dangerous or unfit for consumption products, but which entered Romania with the promise that they could be used: unsanitized clothes, discarded tires, faulty electrical equipment”, Diana Buzoianu wrote on Facebook on Friday.
It specifies that, following field checks, it found “the disaster of waste entering the country illegally, with the false label that it is second-hand products”.
“Today I published on the website of the Ministry of the Environment the draft Emergency Ordinance, co-initiated by Irineu Darău, the Minister of Economy, which establishes a rigorous legislative framework regarding the import of second-hand products. These, too often, quickly become waste in Romania, instead of being used”announces Diana Buzpianu.
The minister explains what this normative act means concretely:
- No clothes, no furniture, no equipment enters the Romanian market without being cleaned, disinfected and certified in advance by an authorized operator.
- No used tire can be sold if it does not meet clear technical road safety standards.
- Any dangerous product discovered at the border or on the market is immediately returned to the country of origin, at the sole expense of the guilty economic operator.
- The introduction of used products into Romania for disposal or final storage is prohibited by law and constitutes a crime.
- Through a digital traceability system (SIATD ROSH), each shipment of second-hand goods is registered, monitored and checked before crossing the border.
“The sanctions for those who try to circumvent these rules are appropriate: fines of up to 100,000 lei and criminal proceedings. Real second-hand products will still be able to enter Romania. But waste masquerading as second-hand products must be stopped at the border, otherwise they end up poisoning us all. The environment and the health of citizens are not negotiable”the Minister of the Environment also sent.
According to the draft, the obligation is established that natural and legal persons who introduce to the market, trade and distribute free of charge articles of worn or used clothing, articles of textile worn or worn and articles of worn or worn footwear to keep a written monthly record of their entries and exits.
Through the draft emergency ordinance of the Government, a series of obligations is established in relation to the introduction on the territory of Romania, with a view to placing on the market, the commercialization and free distribution of used tires, as follows:
– operations related to the marketing, commercialization and free distribution of used tires are carried out exclusively by legal entities specialized in the field, based on an inventory that includes: the number of tires, the manufacturer, the age/year of manufacture/batch;
– the transport and storage conditions of the tires must comply with the requirements imposed by the manufacturer, which the trader can make available to the consumer;
– it is allowed to introduce on the territory of Romania, with a view to placing on the market, the commercialization and free distribution of used tires only if they are in accordance with the applicable safety and quality standards;
– used tires must also be accompanied by correct and useful information regarding the corrective measures in case of non-compliance, the ways of implementing said corrective measures, as well as commercial guarantees in order to ensure a high level of consumer protection and the proper functioning of the internal market.
The normative act also regulates the withdrawal from the market of used tires considered dangerous products.
It is also prohibited to put on the market/make available on the market in Romania any used vehicle that is damaged and declared “total damage” (for cars that have been declared total technical or even economic damage)/taken out of use/not registered in the country of origin.
“Individuals are allowed to bring into the territory of Romania, for personal use, only a number of 2 vehicles used annually, a number of 2 electric scooters used annually or a number of 2 bicycles used annually, goods that they are obliged to declare within 72 hours of entering the country at the county commissariat under ANPC where the natural persons have their domicile/residence”it is shown in the Note of substantiation of the project.
