Solid Waste Management in Vietnam
On 10 March 2011 the Vietnam–Belgium project “Improvement of sanitation and protection of the environment in Tuy Hoa City” organised a national seminar to discuss lessons learned from the project that ends 31 March 2011, together with its sister project in Tuy Phong district more south.
Both projects reorganised the waste collection and management, and constructed a new sanitary landfill. In the final stages of the 4.5 million EUR project in Tuy Hoa, extra attention was given to waste separation, recycling and composting.
The project is one of the first in Vietnam to have a landfill lined with both a thick layer of clay and a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) membrane. It collects the leachate waste water for complete treatment before releasing into the environment. The landfill can collect 660,000 m3 of garbage in its first phase, good for 14 to 27 years of operation, depending on the recycling proportion.
The project is also the first in Vietnam to set up an official waste scavengers association, allowed to work on the landfill site. A sorting area with sieve drum and conveyor belt is being completed as well as a plastic recycling facility producing plastic pellets and new plastic bags. A compost area next to it will reduce the waste volume considerably.
The seminar was chaired by Mr. Le Van Truc, vice chairman of the province of Phu Yen. Presentations were made by the Ministry of Construction (MOC), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Vietnamese association of Urban Environment Companies (VUREIA), and BTC.
The MOC explained the new Vietnamese legislation and strategy focusing on reduction, reuse and recycling. Participants (from other projects and provinces) discussed on ways to improve information and awareness raising to achieve this. Separation at source is the ultimate goal. In the meantime scavengers are supported to recycle and make a good living from their work on the landfill.
Other topics included fee collection, subsidies and institutional strengthening for the urban environmental companies, as well as applying incentives or penalties to get the new strategy implemented.
Later this month on 24 March the Belgian ambassador Mr. Hubert Cooreman and Counsellor for development cooperation Dr. Luc De Backer will officially inaugurate this sanitary landfill.
Jan Van Lint, BTC Hanoi
