VietNamNet Bridge – The environmental service industry has not developed well over the last five years, even though state management agencies have said many times that they would strictly enforce the Environmental Protection Law and slap heavy sanctions on violators.

The plan to develop the environmental service industry by 2025 was approved by the Prime Minister in 2009.

Saying it would be a major task of industrial development, the government reassured environmental service companies that it would create favorable conditions for the companies to develop. The government even promised to provide preferential credit to service providers.

However, the industry has not met expectations. For example, the director of a plastics workshop in Hanoi, when asked how he treats waste, said that it was thrown in a waste dump near his workshop.

He does not treat the waste in a professional way because it is nearly impossible to approach capable environmental service companies, he said.

Under current regulations, the enterprises that discharge hazardous waste during the production process have to hire licensed companies to treat hazardous waste, if they cannot deal with the waste themselves.

However, the problem is that there are very few companies that have licenses, and most of them are located in big cities like Hanoi, Da Nang and HCM City, and Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, where industry generates hazardous waste.

Meanwhile, enterprises in other provinces and cities find it very difficult to find capable service providers.

A senior executive of Binh Dong Company in Tay Ninh province said the company has 10 kilos of hazardous waste treated every month.

However, no environmental service company has signed a waste treatment contract with Binh Dong because 10 kilos is considered too low.

While Vietnam has many legal documents stipulating the obligations of individuals and institutions to protect the environment, it still does not have a legal framework that supports the establishment, management and development of environment services.

Service users complain about difficulties accessing providers, and environmental companies cite problems treating the waste they collect.

A senior executive of Dong Xanh Company said the infrastructure for waste treatment was still poor, with too few dumping grounds.

Vietnam is calling for investment from different economic sectors to set up dumping grounds but they have only served domestic waste.

Special treatment methods are required to deal with industrial and hazardous waste. The burning of waste will generate hazardous ash which needs to be buried at dumping grounds under special conditions. However, there is still no such dumping ground in Vietnam.

Thien Nhien