Vietnam is seeking models of daily-life solid waste treatment technology, such was the purpose at the workshop on "Scheme for daily-life solid waste management” held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Hanoi on January 28.

Representative from Vietnam Environment Administration Nguyen Thuong Hien presented at the workshop. 

According to reports of departments of natural resources and environment of provinces and cities nationwide, Vietnamese cities dump about 38,000 tons of solid waste per day and only 85% of those are collected, while rural areas discharge 32,000 tons, just 40-55% of which are collected.

Addressing the workshop, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said the fast growth of the economy and population has resulted in a steep increase in solid waste, adding that application of new waste treatment technologies is now a national urgent requirement amidst the mounting waste volume and shortcomings of current disposal methods.

Vietnam’s current daily-life solid waste management has not met the requirements of environmental protection as it has not been managed and disposed in a safe way, causing pollution in soil, water and air, Nhan added.

Nguyen Thuong Hien from the Vietnam Environment Administration said the transport of solid waste is also facing obstacles as landfills are located far away from residential areas, and the current environmental fees collected from households are not enough to cover waste collection and transport.  

While qualified landfills have just been built in some provinces with larger budgets, treatment facilities in rural areas and low-income localities have yet to meet environmental standards, Hien noted.

Solid waste management remains a big issue in Vietnam. 

Nguyen Tan Duong, a representative from the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that according to estimated data, in Vietnam, the three main waste treatment methods are landfill, microbiological fertilizer production, and burning. 

Only 30% of the existing landfills meet green standards, while most of the nearly 300 incinerators nationwide are small-scale. There are only about 30 facilities producing organic fertilizers from waste at present, Duong pointed out.

He mentioned a number of technologies applied in the world include biomass technology for composting, burning technology, waste incineration, and other methods such as bale press technology, hydromel, petrochemical, fuel pellets, among others to treat waste.

At the workshop, participants also discussed advantages and disadvantages of localities in daily-life solid waste management, including reduction and classification at source, collection, transportation and handling and lessons learned from practice.

Based on the opinions and suggestions gathered at this workshop, scientists and environmental officials will draft the project to strengthen urban and rural solid waste management capacity. 

Hanoitimes