The Company was formerly Bac Thai porcelain factory. In 1993, the company turned its production from porcelain to votive paper from bamboo, neohouzeaua and splinter from chopsticks making. The company has three paper making lines to have the designed capacity of 6,500 tons/year and the whole company’s product are exported to Taiwan. In 2000, the company shifted from State-owned Company into Joint Stock Company.
Due to cold alkali technology, the wastewater from the company was laden with residue alkali, pulp suspended solid, lignin, leading to high BOD and COD level. Besides, exhausted fume including CO2, SOx is generated from drying process after paper making stage. Solid waste is cellulose decomposed in material dump. According to Environmental Impact Assessment Report from Thai Nguyen Department of Natural Resources and Envirnoment, solid wastes and air emissions of the company met permitted standards. However, because of untreated wastewater problems, the company was listed in “black enterprise list” on environment issues.
Recognizing the importance of applying cleaner production to sustainable development, the Company had established a CP team with 13 members to joint cleaner production demonstration project of Cleaner Production in Industry Component (CPI).
Thanks to the active support of the CPI and CP experts in Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre, the Company has carried out 29 CP options, mostly including no cost and low cost options.
Particular benefits derived from Cleaner Production are as follows:
| Technical benefit | Economic benefit | Environmental benefit |
| Low cost options: | Annual saving up 616.1 million dong | Annual reduction of 125 tons CO2 |
| Annual saving of 47 tons FO | Annual reduction of 114,400 m3 wastewater | |
| Annual reduction of 4% of material consumption | ||
| Annual saving of 156 kwh electricity | ||
| High cost options | Saving of 1,5 billion dong/year | Reduction of 5.19 tons of dust/year. |
| Annual recovery 5,031 tons of pulp | ||
| Annual reduction of 4,658 tons of defect product | ||
| Annual reduction of 114,430 m3 of water consumption |
Typical Cleaner Production options of the Company are as follows:
| No. | CP Option | Investment | Performance | CP technique |
| 1 | Limit material losses (cover the cutting area, clean and collect spitted out pieces; raise awareness and skills of workers; Buy good quality of accessories for ensuring quality) | 6.4 million dong | - Saving up 108.1 million dong/year - Reduction of 4% raw material | GH |
| 2 | Adjust rational oil and sulfur burning mode | No cost | - Saving of 342 million dong/year - Reduction of 125 tons of CO2/year; - Reduction of 1,250 tons of SO2/year | GH |
| 3 | Maintain water-spraying hose | GH | ||
| 4 | Check quality of oil imported | PC | ||
| 5 | Replace old and re-winded motors by new ones with higher efficiency | 50 million dong | - Saving of 156 million dong/year - Payback time: after 4 months. - Reduction of 156.000 kWh/year | CTTB |
| 6 | Install balancing capacitor | KSQT | ||
| 7 | Use natural lighting and use T8 lamp instead of T10 lamp | GH | ||
| 8 | Maintain regularly equipment | GH |
Remarks: GH: Good Housekeeping; EC: Equipment Change; PC: Process Control
CP not only brings about benefits from energy saving, emission minimization, reduced water consumption, but also helps the Company increase production, improve product quality, and prove prestige. The implemented CP options at the Thai Nguyen Export Paper Joint Stock Company are a typical case study for enterprises in the sector of tea production in Vietnam./.