The amount of waste generation in Vietnam is projected to continue to increase in the future with population growth and economic development. The following figure is projections of domestic solid waste generation illustrated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade showing that the growth of solid waste from the urban and industrial sectors is particularly significant by 2025, the annual amount of municipal solid waste is expected to exceed 50 million tones and that of industrial solid waste will reach nearly 30 million tones.

In order to solve such issues relating to waste, the Prime Minister’s Decision 491/QD-TTg on the National Strategy for the Integrated Management of Solid Waste up to 2025, with a view to 2050, was enacted on May 7, 2018. The specific targets for the period to 2025 set out in this decision are as follows: numerical targets for both hazardous waste, including WEEE, and general waste of industrial origin, as well as a policy of thorough collection, transport and treatment or recycling of these wastes.

Hazardous Solid Waste:

  • To collect and transport 100% of hazardous solid waste generated from production, trade and service activities, as well as from health care facilities and craft villages, and meet the requirements for environmental protection.
  • To collect and transport 85% of the hazardous solid waste generated by households and meet the requirements for environmental protection.
    To ensure that all manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment establish and disclose collection sites for discarded products in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Conventional Industrial Solid Waste:

  • To collect, reuse, recycle and treat 100% of general industrial solid waste generated in production, trade and service facilities and craft villages to meet the requirements of environmental protection.
  • To reuse, recycle and treat 80% of ash, slag, gypsum and fertilizer generated by power plants and chemical plants for use as raw materials for production and building materials, etc., to meet the requirements of environmental protection.