The management of daily-life solid waste has not meet the requirements of environmental protection; thus, Vietnam is finding solutions to thoroughly handle daily-life solid waste in a safer way.Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan made the statement at the conference 'Discussing solutions and models of solid waste treatment technology' in Hanoi on December 21.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan speaks at the conference. Photo: Anh Kiet
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Nhan cited reports of the departments of natural resources and environment of provinces and cities nationwide as saying that urban areas dump about 38,000 tons of solid waste per day and only 85% of those are collected, while rural areas discharge 32,000 tons, of which 40-55% are collected.
He said that 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, the deputy minister noted.
Vietnam is one of the countries releasing a large amount of plastic waste in the world. Photo: internet
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There is an urgent need for new technologies that reduce the burden of waste burial to help save land resources, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
The ministry 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.
In Vietnam, the three main waste treatment methods are burial, microbiological fertilizer production, and burning. Only 30% of 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, the ministry pointed out.
Experts at the event said that in some areas, residents have been instructed to dispose waste by using biogas digesters, but this activity is still not widespread.
However, imported technologies do not suit Vietnam’s situation due to different lifestyle and climate conditions. Thus, scientists at the conference stressed that Vietnam should perfect existing technologies, especially those converting waste into energy, to limit the creation of new landfills.
