The Vietnam-Japan joint committee on waste management will map out a cooperation plan to build policies towards effective, sustainable management and treatment of solid waste in Vietnam.

Workers sort waste at a waste treatment factory

Speaking at the first meeting of the committee in Hanoi on January 11 as part of the Vietnam-Japan Environment Week, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said Japan has effectively managed solid waste, recycling it for energy generation.

However, this is a headache for Vietnam as domestic solid waste is mostly dumped in landfills, of which only about 30 percent meet sanitation standards.

The country has only some 300 incinerations, most of which are small scale, Nhan added.

He highlighted the growing cooperative ties between Vietnam and Japan in the field of environmental work through technical cooperation activities and technological transfers.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) hopes to continue cooperating with Japan to learn of its experience in solid waste management and seek suitable models.

The MoNRE called on Japanese firms to invest in waste-to-energy projects in Vietnam.

Japanese Vice Minister of the Environment Takaaiki Katsumata said the establishment in 2018 of the Vietnam-Japan joint committee on solid waste management aims to improve the public sanitation and environmental conservation system in Vietnam.

He suggested putting forth policies to establish an effective solid waste management system in Vietnam applying “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” (3Rs) technology.

Vietnam needs urgent solutions in waste treatment as the Vietnamese Government wants to develop the economy in harmony with environmental protection, he said, adding that with its experience, Japan is able to help Vietnam in this field. –VNA