Domestic waste treatment: Turning pressure into resource

After more than three years of implementing the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, Vietnam has witnessed significant progress in domestic waste management. The proportion of waste sent to landfills has dropped from over 80% to around 59%, while a share of the waste, particularly plastics, has been sorted and recycled into export materials with high economic value.

Speaking at the Workers' Forum for the Environment 2025 on September 19, Mr. Ho Kien Trung, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Environment Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, stated that these results reflect significant progress in the sorting, collection, and treatment of waste, while also showing the enhancement in solid domestic waste recycling capacity.

According to Mr. Trung, many domestic and foreign enterprises have invested in waste treatment and recycling, with 14 new plant projects currently under development. This is a positive signal, helping strengthen management capacity, ease the burden on public budgets, and unlock opportunities for sustainable development.

However, Mr. Trung acknowledged that domestic waste management at the local level still faces numerous shortcomings. The volume of waste continues to rise, while the selection and bidding processes for collection, transport, and treatment units remain challenging. The transfer of responsibilities from management agencies to enterprises and service units, as mandated by local regulations, has also encountered obstacles.

Another major obstacle is the pricing of waste collection, transport, and treatment services. Some provinces have issued specific fee schedules. However, most localities still struggle to determine rates that balance actual costs with residents' ability to pay, resulting in inconsistent implementation and leaving waste scattered and unmanaged.

Faced with these challenges, Deputy Director General Ho Kien Trung emphasized that for domestic waste management to achieve long-term effectiveness, Vietnam must continue to complete its regulatory and policy framework toward transparency and consistency, creating a favorable legal corridor for localities and businesses to implement solutions. At the same time, it is essential to promote socialization and attract multiple economic sectors to invest in waste collection, transport, treatment, and recycling, thereby easing the burden on the state budget.

Mr. Trung also said that raising public awareness and responsibility, from households and businesses to each individual, is a decisive factor for effective waste sorting and reduction right at the source. Equally important is the application of modern technologies in waste treatment, recycling, and energy recovery, turning waste from a "pressure" into a "resource" for green economic development.

"If these solutions are implemented synchronously and drastically, they will contribute to building a green, clean, and sustainable living environment, improving quality of life for citizens, and taking Vietnam’s waste management to a new level," Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Environment Administration Ho Kien Trung affirmed.