Waste oil from car and motorcycle repair shops is hazardous waste that needs to be collected, classified, and treated according to the regulations in Circular No. 36/2015/TT-BTNMT of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on "Management of Hazardous Waste". However, the management of this waste source is still not being strictly supervised or properly handled by the competent authorities. In addition, the collection of waste oil, its use in rudimentary furnaces to distill it into low-quality oil, and its illegal sale on the market show many signs of violating the law. Reporters have documented the chaotic situation of buying and selling waste oil in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai .
A large waste oil collection point on Ha Huy Giap Street, Thanh Xuan Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City.
ABUNDANT SUPPLY FOR ILLEGAL OIL RECREATIONS
After several days of monitoring illegal waste oil recycling facilities on Song May 4 road (Bac Son commune, Trang Bom district, Dong Nai province), we observed that approximately 20 large trucks enter and exit these facilities daily. Each truck carries over 50 steel drums, each containing 200 liters of waste oil. On average, these facilities purchase hundreds of thousands of liters of waste oil per day.
At over 5 PM on May 19th, a truck with a Ho Chi Minh City license plate carrying 67 drums of waste oil (200 liters/drum) was traveling on Provincial Road 767 when it signaled to turn onto Song May 4 Street, delivering the oil to Mr. Quang's oil refining facility located at the end of this road.
A truck carrying 67 drums of waste oil was sold to Mr. Quang's facility on Song May 4 Street.
Earlier, at 9:00 AM on May 11th, a truck with license plate 60H-046.xx, carrying numerous drums of waste oil, also entered Song May 4 Street. The truck then passed through the gate marked " Military Zone - No Entry" without any obstacles. Upon reaching the oil refining facility, the driver honked the horn to signal those inside to open the gate. Once the truck was inside, the gate was immediately closed, and a group of employees from the oil refining facility unloaded the drums of waste oil (200 liters/drum) into storage. Notably, on several days, reporters also observed numerous trucks (with license plates 60C-337.xx, 51C-766.xx, 51C-811.xx, 60C-345.xx, 76C-113.xx, 60C-167.xx, 61C-020.xx...) regularly supplying waste oil to oil refining facilities on Song May 4 Street.
Returning to the aforementioned waste oil supply, at approximately 11:00 AM on May 11th, a truck with license plate 60H-046.xx arrived carrying empty drums. We followed it and discovered that the truck drove to a waste oil collection point (in Group 10, Tan Cang Hamlet, Phuoc Tan Ward, Bien Hoa City). Inside the collection point, two men opened the truck's cargo bed and unloaded the empty metal drums. At the same time, two motorbikes carrying 10 plastic containers (30 liters/container) of thick, viscous waste oil arrived to sell to the collection point.
A man over 40 years old was transporting 10 cans of waste engine oil to sell to a waste oil collection point in Phuoc Tan Ward (Bien Hoa City).
After several days of observation, reporters noted that every day, about a hundred motorbikes would leave the workshop and head to repair shops and industrial zones in Dong Nai, Binh Duong , and Ho Chi Minh City to collect waste oil. The collected waste oil was then put into metal drums. After collecting enough, these people used forklifts to load the drums onto trucks, and then continued to deliver them to oil refineries.
The inside of this workshop was extremely messy, with waste oil spilled everywhere, staining the ground black, and emitting a pungent, foul odor. Hundreds of uncovered drums (200 liters each) were piled up around the area, posing a significant fire hazard.
Following another truck, a regular supply of waste oil to processing and trading facilities on Song May 4 Street was discovered. The reporter found a waste oil collection point, approximately 500 m² in size, located at the foot of Phu Long Bridge (Ha Huy Giap Street, Thanh Xuan Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City). Every day, around 10 large and small trucks and dozens of motorbikes arrive to sell waste oil.
At 9:00 AM on May 24th, in just about an hour, our reporter observed two trucks and four motorbikes (300 liters each) entering to sell waste oil. The process of receiving waste oil from the motorbikes took about 10 minutes, while for the trucks it took around 30 minutes.
POTENTIAL DANGERS
After several days of observation, reporters noted that the entire process of collecting waste oil by the "agents" and at the aforementioned waste oil collection points was carried out spontaneously, manually, and without protective equipment. This waste oil collection process shows signs of violating environmental regulations, requirements for the storage, sale, and management of hazardous waste as stipulated in the Environmental Protection Law. Furthermore, these facilities do not ensure fire safety measures.
It's not difficult to detect and deal with the networks involved in the illegal collection of waste engine oil, as this activity takes place openly and has been going on for a long time. In addition, motorcycle repair shops and industrial zones also actively sell waste oil, even though it's classified as hazardous waste, and the lack of control over this waste source is the root cause of illegal oil production.
Speaking to a reporter, Mr. Thinh (owner of a long-standing chain of motorcycle repair shops in Bien Hoa City) said that previously, used engine oil after changing for customers was poured into plastic containers and then sent to an environmental company for processing according to regulations. "Each time I disposed of the used oil, I had to spend extra money on the company transporting it for processing. On average, each shop changes 15-20 bottles of oil per day, resulting in about 20 liters of used oil per day. However, in recent years, I haven't needed to spend money on disposing of used oil; on the contrary, I've earned an additional income of over 3 million VND per month. The used oil is collected by buyers in the afternoon at 4,000 VND per liter, which is very convenient," Mr. Thinh said.
Similarly, Mr. Dung (52 years old, residing in Thu Duc City, owner of several motorbike repair shops in Ho Chi Minh City) said that every day dozens of people on motorbikes and trucks come to his shop asking to buy used engine oil.
Posing as someone looking for waste oil to recycle, one afternoon in late May 2023, a reporter approached a male driver who had just supplied a truckload of waste oil to Mr. Duc's oil refining facility on Song May 4 Street.
The male driver stated that twice a day (morning and afternoon), the network of accomplices would spread out to repair shops in Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Long An, buying used engine oil at 4,000 VND/liter and reselling it to collection points for over 6,000 VND/liter. After collecting enough, the used engine oil was put into drums and resold to illegal oil refining facilities.
Upon contacting a key figure in the operation, Mr. Hung (52 years old, residing in Bien Hoa City), stated that he daily collects waste oil from motorcycle repair shops in Bien Hoa City and some neighboring provinces using his motorbike. On average, Mr. Hung collects 100-200 liters of waste oil per day at a price of 4,000 VND/liter. The waste oil is stored at his home, and once he has collected about 1,000 liters, he uses a three-wheeled vehicle to transport it directly to the waste oil processing facility of Ms. D.T.K.Th (behind the cemetery, Long Binh Ward, Bien Hoa City) for 6,500 VND/liter, making a profit of 2,500 VND/liter.
During the previous investigation, the reporter was informed by the owner of a waste oil processing facility (on Song May 4 Street) that this facility needed a large and regular supply of waste oil for refining into finished oil products. "Bring me all the waste oil you bring here, I'll buy it all, at 6,000 VND/liter. The price may fluctuate depending on the time," this person said… ( to be continued )
According to Decree 155/2016/ND-CP, which regulates administrative penalties in the field of environmental protection, the act of transferring, giving, buying, or selling hazardous waste to organizations or individuals without a hazardous waste treatment license may be subject to a fine of 10 to 250 million VND. A fine of 200 to 250 million VND will be imposed for the act of recycling, treating, or recovering energy from hazardous waste without the approval of the competent authority or in a manner inconsistent with the content in the hazardous waste generator registration book.
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