It costs more than $1.2 billion each year to treat household waste.
Speaking at the Workers' Forum for the Environment (held on December 12), Mr. Ho Kien Trung - Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Pollution Control (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) said that according to statistics, up to now, the total amount of domestic solid waste (CTRSH) generated nationwide is about 67,110 tons/day.
“If we only take the low cost of collecting, transporting and treating 1 ton of solid waste at 50 USD, then on average the whole country spends about 3.35 million USD per day to collect, transport and treat all generated solid waste, equivalent to about 1.2 billion USD/year. This is not a small number for a developing country like Vietnam,” said Mr. Trung.
According to statistics, recyclable waste accounts for 20-25% of the total amount of solid waste generated. This is a high-value source of raw materials for production; the rest is other solid waste such as single-use plastic bags, candy wrappers, foam boxes, wood chips, etc. with low value.
However, according to Mr. Trung, if these wastes are pre-processed and made into fuel pellets to be used as fuel for some industries or burned to generate electricity, they will also create value. Currently, cement and steel factories are looking to buy these types of waste to create fuel pellets. "Thus, almost all generated solid waste can be recycled, reused or created into energy and create value from waste," Mr. Trung affirmed.
Currently, many countries in the world no longer have landfills because they can handle waste, while in Vietnam, about 65% of the total amount of solid waste in Vietnam is treated by direct landfill; About 16% of the total amount of waste is treated at compost processing plants and about 19% of the total amount of waste is treated by incineration and other methods such as recycling, gasification, making fuel pellets, etc.
Notably, Mr. Ho Kien Trung said that some businesses and some localities have sought stable output for waste after classification. For example, in Hai Phong, compost products have been consumed and responded to by the market; the rate of solid waste buried in landfills will decrease year after year (in 2023, this rate is 64%, in 2019 it is 70%); the rate of recycling and reuse of waste has tended to increase in recent years (in 2023, up to 16.15% of the amount of waste generated will be produced into humus or organic fertilizer; 10.25% of the amount of waste generated will be treated by incineration with electricity generation)...
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Quang - Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also said that many enterprises have many projects and implemented measures in production to protect the environment, such as Sanofi Group is implementing a project to produce biomass energy from rice husks...
Some localities have effectively built and operated waste-to-energy plants such as: Hanoi (Soc Son waste-to-energy project with a capacity of 4,000 tons of waste/day, generating capacity of 75MW), Binh Thuan (Vinh Tan waste-to-energy project with a capacity of 600 tons of waste/day, generating capacity of 30MW), Phu Tho (Phu Ninh waste-to-energy project with a capacity of 500 tons of waste/day, generating capacity of 25MW), Bac Ninh (Green Star waste-to-energy plant with a capacity of 180 tons of waste/day and night, generating capacity of 6.1MW)...
Waste is not a “burden”
Speakers at the Forum all agreed that in order to develop a circular economy, it is necessary to promote a change in thinking from “production – consumption – disposal” to “reduce – reuse – recycle”. Circular models not only help reduce resource waste and protect the environment, but also create added value for businesses and the community, enhancing competitiveness in the international arena.
To achieve the emission reduction target, it is necessary to focus on strictly controlling industries with high risk of causing environmental pollution, while promoting the transition to clean, environmentally friendly energy sources; Applying green technology, the best available technology, technology that does not generate greenhouse gas emissions.
Waste is not a “burden”, but a valuable resource if exploited properly. To turn waste into a resource for the country’s economic development, the first step is to promote waste classification, build modern recycling plants and encourage research and application of advanced waste treatment technology. This is not only the responsibility of the Government and businesses but also of each citizen. Accordingly, if only each citizen is aware of classification, each year, Vietnam will be able to save up to billions of USD.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/bien-chat-thai-thanh-nguyen-lieu-san-xuat-post534696.html
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