Promote waste recycling towards a circular economy
Thứ tư, 27/10/2021
Waste recycling is an important step in the circular economy. Implementing recycling brings many benefits to the environment and the community.
Waste recycling is an important step in the circular economy. Implementing recycling brings many benefits to the environment and the community, such as reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators; Supplying input materials for the production of goods… Developing in this trend, HCMC has made great efforts in research, policymaking, planning and management of domestic solid waste in the direction of increasing waste recycling.
Da Phuoc Solid Waste Treatment Complex, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HOANG HUNG
Increasing the proportion of recyclable waste is also a solution to reduce the pressure of increasing the land fund for landfilling, especially in the context that the land fund in HCMC is increasingly limited. However, along with this problem, the classification of municipal solid waste (MSW) at source in HCMC must be implemented synchronously and drastically in residential areas. Input waste components must meet recycling standards as production materials.
According to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung from the Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, the potential for the recycling sector in Ho Chi Minh City remains redundant. For example, the amount of MSW is continuing to increase due to population growth, economic development as well as rapid urbanization. In the composition of solid waste, there are always many recyclable things available such as paper, plastic, metal, glass, and rubber. The rate of biodegradable organic solid waste in MSW in HCMC is quite high, ranging from 59.2% to 74.3%. If classified well at the source, this is one of the very important input materials for energy recovery composting or anaerobic composting plants… More importantly, the city's solid waste management policy continues to pursue increased waste recycling with the goal that by 2025, the rate of domestic waste treatment by modern new technology (incineration and generation) and recycling will reach at least 80%, aiming to 100% by 2030.
Benefits of sorting waste at source
Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung added that, to ensure recycling activities, the infrastructure system for collection, transportation, recycling and solid waste treatment needs to be increased in investment to keep up with the speed of development of Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the city needs to apply basic solutions synchronously, such as promoting activities of classifying MSW at source on the basis of continuing to raise awareness through mass media and applying fines for administrative violations according to Decree No. 155/2016/ND-CP.
From a management perspective, it is necessary to reorganize the waste collection and recycling system of trade unions, waste collection cooperatives and associations of scrap recycling facilities... At the same time, relocate waste recycling facilities that do not meet the requirements for environmental protection in residential areas. Assoc. Prof-Dr. Nguyen Hong Quan, Director of the Institute for Circular Economy Development, also said that in order to promote recycling activities in Ho Chi Minh City towards a circular economy approach, the city needs more policies to encourage businesses to participate more in this market. A solution that cannot be ignored is to promote propaganda to raise people's awareness on the implementation of waste classification at source.
From an investor's perspective, Mr. Huynh Minh Nhut, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Company, said that in order for the waste recycling market in Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general to be successful, the most important factor is still the implementation of waste separation at source. If people classify garbages right at the source, it will reduce a lot of pressure on the collection, transportation and treatment units.
Ha Tran