Ho Chi Minh City links provinces in solid waste management

The information was said by Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Thi Thanh My at a seminar on solid waste management towards sustainable development, on October 31. According to Ms. My, the Department is advising the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on a project to classify waste at source including three types according to the 2020 Environmental Protection Law, to serve recycling activities.

To do this, Ho Chi Minh City needs technical infrastructure and technology. However, Ho Chi Minh City currently has no planning for waste recycling and recycling industry development. “It is necessary to plan at the regional level, not at the local level,” Ms. My said, explaining that Ho Chi Minh City no longer has a land fund for waste recycling planning. Neighboring localities that can coordinate include: Binh Duong, Long An, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria – Vung Tau…

Currently, the city is coordinating with Long An province to prepare about 200 hectares at the Waste Treatment Complex in Thu Thua for waste treatment, which includes relocating waste recycling plants to this area. In addition to this location, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to have two waste treatment plants in Thu Duc City and one in Can Gio district. “The city has laid the first bricks for the recycling industry in Long An,” said Ms. My.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City generates about 13,000 tons of household waste every day, of which about 20% – 30% can be recycled. In 2020, the city has a policy of prioritizing technology conversion from landfilling to burning waste to generate electricity and recycling with the goal of reaching over 80% by 2027.

Currently, Tam Sinh Nghia Factory at Cu Chi Solid Waste Treatment Complex uses combustion technology without energy recovery and composting. In July, this factory started applying waste incineration technology to generate electricity with a total capital of about 4,600 billion VND. VietStar factory applies technology to produce compost and plastic beads. The largest waste treatment plant in Ho Chi Minh City in Da Phuoc commune, Binh Chanh district is using landfill technology and compost production.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thien, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Binh Duong Water and Environment Company (BIWASE), said that currently businesses mainly implement composting and burning waste to generate electricity. These are said to be two high-tech techniques that require large investment costs, especially in electricity generation technology.

Mr. Thien calculated that with Japanese technology, the capacity of 500 tons of garbage per day can generate 12 – 13 MWh of electricity, with an investment cost of up to 65 million USD (more than 1,600 billion VND). The reason is that waste incineration technology needs to use special materials that can withstand temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius continuously. Normally, at the location of the trash incinerator, the materials must be replaced every 2-3 years, because these metals have changed their properties. The waste burning area needs to have fire-resistant bricks and concrete. These materials often have to be imported, because Vietnam does not have many suppliers. In addition, the heat obtained from the furnace is converted into high-capacity electricity, requiring many stages and large investments.

He believes that investing in technology to burn waste to generate electricity requires a recycling workshop with separate areas for processing. “Many people say trash is a resource and money, but to do so requires a huge investment,” he said. BIWASE representatives hope that scientists will join hands to contribute and find technology ideas to optimize costs to jointly develop waste treatment technology infrastructure.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Lu Phuong, Lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment, said that it is necessary to raise awareness of people and businesses in limiting and recycling plastic waste according to the 10 Rs strategy. This strategy guides people to start by refusing single-use plastic waste products, then move on to reduce, reuse, recycle, recover…

According to Associate Professor Phuong, the first thing in limiting plastic waste is that people need to refuse disposable products. When going to the market, they can bring their own bags to limit the use of plastic bags. Plastic water bottles need to be converted to glass or aluminum bottles for repeated use. “Changing habits helps limit the large amount of single-use plastic waste,” Associate Professor Phuong said.