According to the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and Decree 45/2022 effective from January 1, 2025, people must classify waste at source into 3 groups: Reusable and recyclable waste; food waste; other household waste. Violators will be fined from 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND. However, after nearly half a year of implementation, this regulation has not been implemented synchronously, causing many difficulties from infrastructure to community awareness.
Recorded at an apartment building in Cau Giay district (Hanoi), the garbage collection system here still retains the old design, with only one garbage pipe for all types of waste. The situation of recycled waste, food, and mixed-use waste continues to occur every day, despite the new regulations.
Ms. Anh Nguyet, a resident living here, shared: I classify waste into glass, paper, plastic bottles and household waste. The types that can be recycled I take directly to the collection area, and the household waste still has to be put into the building's common pipes. Traveling is inconvenient, especially when my house is on the 7th floor".
Not only in apartment buildings, many schools have not yet met the requirements for classifying waste at source.
Recorded at a university in Hanoi, the trash bins were mainly of one or two compartments, without trash bins with three compartments in accordance with regulations. Many students do not yet fully understand the new regulations or the specific classification method.
According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Thang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Agriculture and Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), there are many reasons why the waste classification plan at source has not achieved the expected results.
The first reason is that there is no infrastructure for technology and techniques to separately treat domestic solid waste after it has been classified. This causes people to classify waste at source, but the back system is not capable of handling the process properly, reducing the overall efficiency of the entire process.
The second reason is that localities have not yet given strong instructions on implementing waste classification at source. The third reason comes from the awareness and sense of responsibility of each citizen.
Mr. Thang said that to successfully implement, we need to follow a plan with a specific roadmap, step by step, from the 3-year period, to the 5-year and 10-year period. At the same time, gradually changing people's awareness and upgrading technology and technical infrastructure to suit and meet the requirements of the plan. Only when these factors are synchronized and complete can the set goals be achieved.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thi An, Director of the Institute of Natural Resources, Environment and Community Development, to achieve the expected results, the State needs to first study and arrange a certain funding source to initially support people and units performing the task of classifying waste. Along with that, there needs to be a clear, public and transparent reward and reward mechanism.
