We’re all for reducing, reusing, and recycling waste in our daily lives. We appreciate the efforts of environmentalists like Binish Desai who are creating eco-friendly bricks out of disposed PPE kits and masks. But recycling used condoms? Eww, no thanks.
According to BBC, cops in Vietnam have raided a warehouse near Ho Chi Minh City where used condoms were being boiled in water, dried, reshaped with wooden dildos, repacked, and illegally sold. Over 320,000 used condoms were seized and a 34-year-old woman who is believed to be the owner was arrested.
Thousands of used condoms recycled for illegal salehttps://t.co/k63kzEvHjz pic.twitter.com/oT2f5u5aum
— Việt Nam News (@VietnamNewsVNS) September 23, 2020
REUTERS – Police in VIETNAM have confiscated an estimated 345,000 used condoms which had been cleaned and resold as new, state media reported.
Footage broadcast by Vietnam Television (VTV) showed dozens of large bags containing the used contraceptives scattered across the floor. pic.twitter.com/4O7dj896XA
— UPTown Nigeria (@UPTown_NG) September 24, 2020
CNN quoted the woman saying that the recycled condoms were sold for $0.17 (~Rs.13) per kilogram. According to CBS News, the used condoms were purchased on a monthly basis from an unknown person in the province.
More than 300,000 used condoms that had been washed and were about to be sold to the public as "new" were discovered by Vietnamese police during a raid on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/a9Y9BDCAYE
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 24, 2020
Condoms are meant to be put in the trash after use. According to Business Insider, their effectiveness against sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies is eliminated after the first use as there are chances of breakage, bacteria/virus lurking on the surface even after washing, and spreading of STDs like super gonorrhea.