Classification work still faces many difficulties
At the seminar "Implementing regulations on waste classification: Difficult to recover" held on November 29, Lao Dong Newspaper had an interview with Dr. Tran Van Mieu, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, Deputy Director of Urenco Hoan Kiem Branch, Urenco Hanoi Company.
Discussing at the seminar, Dr. Tran Van Mieu, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, pointed out major barriers that make waste classification at source ineffective. He said that the requirement to have 3 trash bins for sorting has caused difficulties for many households, especially those with small areas.
In addition, a paradox that is making people angry is the lack of consistency in the process. Despite efforts to classify waste at home, when it is brought out, the waste is dumped in a container during collection, losing the meaning of this work.
switching to using biological bags is also facing obstacles due to high costs. Therefore, Mr. Mieu believes that it is necessary to lower the prices of these products to ensure their rights, because according to him, once people see practical benefits, they will automatically respond. Finally, an unforgettable factor is that the work of disseminating and popularizing environmental laws is still limited and has not really entered people's lives.
From the perspective of a waste collection and transportation enterprise, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, Deputy Director of Urenco Hoan Kiem Branch, Urenco Hanoi Company, said that the unit has repeatedly communicated directly to each household, coordinated with local authorities and residential groups to propagate waste classification. However, people often pay attention to attractive and easy-to-receive information, while content related to waste classification is of little interest, leading to low propaganda effectiveness.
I think this problem is also from policies. The habit of the people up to now is that just throw away garbage and there will be a collection unit to handle it. Because of this mentality, collection units still have to do their job regardless of whether the waste has been classified or not. These are persistent problems, making the work of classifying waste at source still not possible to effectively implement, said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, Deputy Director of Urenco Hoan Kiem Branch, Urenco Hanoi Company.
Synchronously implementing many solutions
Regarding waste classification and management, Dr. Tran Van Mieu, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, said that this process depends on many different factors and subjects, from local authorities, specialized management agencies to experts and environmental service units.
According to him, in order for waste classification to be implemented effectively, there needs to be appropriate treatment policies for the forces directly performing the task, ensuring their health, income and working conditions. In addition, it is necessary to promote incentive mechanisms and disseminate initiatives and solutions to serve waste classification. More importantly, the attention and close direction of the government is a decisive factor for the plan to be implemented in accordance with regulations and put into practice.
Masterists must agree and accompany to implement the story of waste classification at source in provinces and cities, shared Dr. Tran Van Mieu, Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment.
On the business side, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, Deputy Director of Urenco Hoan Kiem Branch, Urenco Hanoi Company, said that the most necessary thing right now is synchronous coordination between authorities at all levels, localities, people and management agencies such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
She proposed that competent authorities issue clear guidelines and policies so that the work of classifying waste at source does not stop at propaganda but is put into practice, bringing sustainable results in the coming years. According to Ms. Hang, only when there is a synchronous combination between the government, businesses and the community, can the goal of garbage collection, classification and treatment be successfully achieved.
"Our businesses can only collect, we are not allowed to fine people, that can only depend on the government. To raise public awareness, I think the government must increase the penalty level, increase the deterrent level after repeated violations," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang.
To improve people's awareness - one of the reasons why the waste classification process has not been implemented effectively, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang believes that early education is an important solution. Bringing propaganda about waste classification into schools - from kindergarten will help children form awareness from a young age.
"When they understand where to put this garbage, which garbage group it belongs to and then come back and tell their families, that habit will gradually become subconscious. When they are grown up, they will do it naturally and only then will the classification work be completely effective, said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, Deputy Director of Urenco Hoan Kiem Branch, Urenco Hanoi Company.
