Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The problem of domestic solid wastetreatment is a challenge for the sustainable development of Hanoi.

Article 79 of the Law on Environmental Protection in 2020stipulates that localities must classify domestic solid waste discharged fromhouseholds and individuals by December 31, 2024.

The deadline is less than two years away, but localities are stillstruggling to find the appropriate plan.

Lack of guidance

Up to now, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment(MONRE) has not yet issued specific guidance for cities and provincesnationwide.

The Law on Environmental Protection regulates the classificationof solid waste into three categories of recyclable solid waste, food waste andother domestic solid waste.

Hanoi is the second largest city in the country with an estimatedpopulation of more than nine million people who discharge about 7,000 tonnes ofdomestic solid waste per day that needs to be treated.

According to statistics, among the 7,000 tonnes of daily domesticsolid waste, food waste accounts for 51.9%, equal to 3,600 tonnes, inertsubstances such as leather, wood and rubber account for 38% (about 2,700tonnes), and recyclable solid waste is 7.1% (about 500 tonnes).

Currently, 98% of domestic solid waste is collected and dumped inlandfills, while only 2% of domestic solid waste is treated by burning.

Therefore, the treatment of domestic solid waste becomes a vitalissue for the sustainable development of the city.

The classification of domestic waste has been piloted since 2006.At that time, the city carried out a pilot project of waste separation atsource, known as project 3R funded by the Japan International Co-operationAgency (JICA).

With the aim to reduce, recycle and reuse waste, the projectachieved many remarkable results.

After the pilot period, the amount of waste sent to landfillsdecreased by 30%, which helped reduce environmental pollution, save wastetreatment costs and extend the life of landfills.

However, in just three years, the project had to stop because JICAstopped funding the programme.

Currently, most dust bins in streets are too small so garbage isalways overflowing out while garbage trucks are too old so garbage water flowsinto the street. Moreover, there are no separate vehicles for separate types ofwaste.

Three main pillars

According to Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, Hanoi needs synchronous solutionsto meet the requirements of solid domestic waste treatment.

First of all, the city must identify the main solid wastetreatment technologies in coming years so that on that basis it can takeappropriate classification measures.

For example, it must classify what food waste should be compostedor buried, what type of solid waste should be burned to generate electricity toavoid the situation where garbage collection workers mix waste together fortreatment because there is no place to treat each type of waste separately.

The city must quickly issue technical guidelines on wastesegregation at source and make them widely available. It is possible toimplement a pilot programme at some places and then replicate it to the wholecity.

It is necessary to offer a financial mechanism to encouragerecycling activities, such as a tax reduction, or land policies to buildrecycling factories.

There is a need, especially within the private sector, to investin waste sorting equipment at source.

According to Nga, the city should provide households garbage bagsand trash cans which have specific colours for each type of waste so that theycan sort waste at home.

The most important factor for solid waste segregation at source isto raise public awareness.

One of the main reasons for the failure of pilot projects ofsorting waste at source is that people are not aware of their importantcontribution to the city's environmental protection and garbage classification.

Therefore, when the project stops being financed, the wastesorting work at the source automatically ends.

Education and communication to raise people's awareness must becarried out regularly with the participation of local governments and civilorganisations. Schools need to teach students how to separate waste at sourceso that they can apply it at home.

The arrangement of garbage disposal also needs to be specified,appropriate and notified to each family. The experience of other cities showsthat it is possible to arrange for sorting garbage at home according to thedays of the week.

For example, recyclable waste on Mondays, food waste daily, andhazardous waste on a certain day of the month.

In summary, in order to meet the requirement of waste separationat source of the Law on Environmental Protection, it was important that themunicipal authority firmly establish the three main pillars of technical infrastructure,raising awareness of households and strict enforcement of the law andsanctions, Nga said./.