Imports of second-hand products, more strictly regulated. Head of the Environmental Guard: “We plugged a legislative vacuum exploited by networks of fake operators”
The head of the National Environmental Guard, Andrei Corlan, announced on Sunday that the new emergency ordinance on the regulation of imports of second-hand products closes a legislative vacuum that was taken advantage of by entire networks of fake operators who imported waste, and most of it ended up being either burned or thrown in fields, forests and waters.
The representatives of the National Environmental Guard announced on Sunday that the lack of clear legislation favored the development of waste traffic disguised as used products, against the background of a high demand in certain areas of the country, News.ro notes.
“The new emergency ordinance on the regulation of imports of second-hand products responds directly to this vulnerability, by clearly defining the responsibilities of the operators, introducing the obligations of registration and traceability of the quantities introduced into the country, the verification of compliance and the return of non-compliant ones”, the representatives of the National Environmental Guard sent.
They specified that this normative framework limits the risk of Romania bearing the environmental costs generated by waste from other states and eliminates legal ambiguities in cases that end up in court, intervening on the source of the phenomenon, not just on the effects.
“This approach becomes all the more important in the context of accession to the Schengen area and the reduction of border control points, where the effectiveness of the intervention essentially depends on the existence of clear and uniformly applicable rules”, the cited source added.
In the period 2023-2025, the Environmental Guard applied contraventional sanctions of approximately 19 million lei, the activity of 46 companies was suspended, 2145 tons of recyclable waste were confiscated, and 33 criminal reports were drawn up.
The general commissioner of the National Environmental Guard, Andrei Corlan, stated that a legislative vacuum was filled in this way.
“We managed to plug a legislative vacuum that was taken advantage of by entire networks of fake operators who imported waste which in the end, in the largest proportion, ended up being either burned for recovery or thrown in fields, forests and waters. The set of legislative changes is the result of an effort that began three years ago, based on clear data from the field. We are grateful that now our proposals are turning into good legislation. I congratulate the Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu who in a few on Monday he unblocked the discussions and made the OUG transparent, and I appreciate all the efforts of our colleagues from the ANPC and MAI structures who worked concretely on this project”, Andrei Corlan declared.
New rules regarding the import of second-hand products
The Ministries of the Environment and the Economy have co-initiated a draft emergency ordinance establishing a “rigorous legislative framework” regarding the import of second-hand products.
The project, the Minister of the Environment said on Friday, in a post on Facebook, establishes that “no clothes, no furniture, no equipment” will enter the Romanian market without being cleaned, disinfected and certified in advance by an authorized operator.
At the same time, according to Diana Buzoianu, “any dangerous product” detected at the border or on the market will be returned “immediately 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,” is another measure provided for in the draft, according to the minister.
