Waste treatment must improve: experts
Ninety percent of waste in Vietnam is buried by an outdated, environmentally ineffective method that is costly and requires large plots of land, as heard at a conference held last week in Binh Thuan.
A small-scale incinerator in Central Ha Tinh Province. (Source: tinmoitruong.vn)HCM City leads with 7,000 tonnes of waste per day, most of it buried.
"Burial of waste is the easiest and cheapest method, but it needs a huge area, at least 10 – 15 hectares," Chu Van Hai, Director of HCM City's Testing and Analysis Service Centre, was quoted as saying in the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper.
The costs, which are also high, cover waste classification and treatment, water drainage systems, fence and microbiological agents to reduce odors.
Even after burial, rats and insects can spread the waste, which is then absorbed into the land and pollutes water resources.
"Waste after burial can also be dug up by people who are looking for scrap iron," he said.
New technologies, including incineration and compression, and methods that would create microbiological fertiliser or construction materials from waste, are being used around the country, but only for testing at this time.
Many experts have agreed that incinerator technology, which would cost several million US dollars, would be environmentally friendly. But Vietnam must first train human resources, and begin to classify waste (for example, whether to burn it or use for fertiliser production).
The Cao Nguyen Da Lat Green Environment Limited Company has invested in an incinerator made with German technology, located in the Central Highlands province of Da Lat's Bao Loc town.
It has a capacity of 70 – 80 tonnes of waste per day, and does not emit exhaust or odors. Its limited size also saves land that can be used for other purposes.
"Daily waste can become something useful if the local government can recycle, reuse and regenerate, and avoid the burial of waste," said Ngo Xuan Tiec, General Director of Tam Sinh Nghia Limited company, which has seven incinerators with capacity of 130 tonnes of waste a day.
New policies are needed, according to Huynh Minh Nhut, Director of the HCM City Urban – Environment Limited Company.
"To increase the quality of environmental protection, the Government should develop policies to encourage investment from different economic groups," he said.-VNA
You should also see
PM visits police command centre, checks cultural centre construction in Phu Tho
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the command and control centre of the Phu Tho police and examined the construction of this northern province’s house of culture and arts on April 18.
See more
Environment
Saigon Co.op ties up with Winrock International for waste circulation
Saigon Co.op signed an MoU with non-profit Winrock International in HCM City on April 12 to reduce environmental pollution by developing a waste circulation model, enhancing waste separation at source and raising the extended producer responsibility.
Environment
Solutions proposed to tackle growing challenge of electronic waste
Vietnam faces a growing problem with electronic waste (e-waste), according to a study by the Hanoi University of Science and Technology's Centre of Science-Technology and Environment.
Environment
Contest seeks innovative solutions to recycle plastic
The innovative solution contest 2024 was launched in Hanoi on April 12, aiming to seek solutions in the plastic circular value chain, especially new and creative solutions in improving the capacity to collect, process and recycle plastic packaging.
Environment
Co To calls for actions to prevent plastic pollution in tourism activities
Co To island district in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh has asked local accommodation facilities and travel firms to apply environmental protection measures in tourism business activities to build an island free of plastic bags and other single-use items.
Environment
Eight coastal localities get more support in forestry modernisation
The 4,040 hectares of forests planted and restored in the first phase of the World Bank (WB)-funded Forest Sector Modernisation and Coastal Resilience Enhancement Project will receive further care, as Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued a decision on the adjustment of the project investment, an official has said.
