Brief Report: Law on Environmental Protection 2020 of Vietnam (5)

On November 17, 2020, the National Assembly of Vietnam enacted the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 (72/2020/QH14). This law thoroughly amends the Law on Environmental Protection 2014 and sets out requirements for a wide range of environmental issues. The management of household waste is also amended in this law.

The original text of this law can be downloaded from the following URL. This law will come into effect on January 1, 2022 (with exceptions for some articles).
http://www.nghean.gov.vn/wps/wcm/connect/87f6a28040e39e4ca31ebf4907f91c2e/Lua%CC%A3%CC%82t+BVMT+2020++.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=87f6a28040e39e4ca31ebf4907f91c2e

As for the charging system for household waste, the fee is supposed to be calculated based on the amount and volume of waste instead of fixed rate per household. However, the processes must comply with the roadmap in order to implement the regulations regarding waste segregation, weight measurement, etc. The application of this roadmap will start in the municipalities and regions and planned to be expanded to rural areas and mountainous regions.

Specifically, household waste is classified into the following three types.

• • Reusable and recyclable waste
  • Food waste
  • Other domestic solid waste

The Law on Environmental Protection 2020 stipulates the following provisions in order to effectively classify domestic solid waste with reference to Japan and South Korea.

• • People’s Committees of provinces decide regulations on the classification of domestic solid waste according to its own local situation. The deadline for beginning of application is December 31, 2024.
  • If it is detected that the segregation is not appropriate at garbage collection sites, companies can refuse to collect and transport the garbage and report it to the authority to pursue the offender. Implementation of violation investigations using surveillance cameras also becomes possible.
  • Political and social organizations of each level carry out publicity activities so that citizens segregate waste. Local people’s unions are responsible for auditing the status of implementation of waste segregation and reporting any violations to the authority.
  • In rural areas, it is recommended to reuse food waste for organic fertilizer or livestock food after waste segregation.

Please see more about the details of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 (72/2020/QH14):

• Brief report: the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 of Vietnam (1) – Rules responding to Stockholm Convention on POPs
• Brief report: the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 of Vietnam (2) – Recycling of discarded products and packaging materials based on EPR
• Brief Report: Law on Environmental Protection 2020 of Vietnam (3) – Measurements against climate change and ozone depletion
• Brief Report: Law on Environmental Protection 2020 of Vietnam (4) – Hazardous waste management and environmental audit