Vietnam to Apply Pay-as-you-throw Model for Waste Treatment by 2025

Vietnam will apply the model of charging households based on the amount of garbage they discard by 2025, local media cited the amended Law on Environment Protection as saying. Accordingly, residents have to sort their trash into three groups, namely recyclable waste, food waste, and the rest. Trash must be gathered into eco-friendly bags by their classification, thus collection units will reserve the right to refuse their garbage removal if any family or businesses do not meet the requirement. The law stated that the cost of collecting, transferring, and treating the waste would be calculated based on the volume of trash one household discarding, which means the more they throw away, the higher the fee is. The amended law will take effect from January 1, 2022, besides, specific regulations and guidance on sorting out trash and applying the fee are yet to be determined by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE). Vietnam produces 25.5 million tons of solid waste a year, of which 75% is buried. Hanoi capital city and southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City spend VND1.2 trillion-VND1.5 trillion ($52 million-$65 million) a year each on collecting and treating garbage. (ThanhNien, e.vnexpress.net, vnexpress.net, vtv.vn, vtvgo.vn)