96 per cent of urban household wastes to be safely processed in 2023

96 per cent of urban household wastes to be safely processed in 2023. - Illustrative image (Photo:VNA)

Hanoi – Vietnam targets having 96 per cent of urban household wastes collected and processed up to standards this year, said Director of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Vietnam Environment Administration Hoang Van Thuc.

Up to 92 per cent of operating industrial and processing areas will have concentrated wastewater treatment systems while 40 per cent of household wastes will be processed through incineration, electricity generation, and recycling models instead of landfilling, Thuc said.

Last year, Vietnam’s recycling industry expanded by 11.3 per cent annually, placing the country the 10th globally in terms of metal, plastic, paper and glass recycling, laying a foundation for circular economic development

The Vietnamese Government has set a goal to raise the rate of solid waste collected and safely treated to 100 per cent in 2050 as part of the approved national strategy on green growth for 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050.

Overall, the strategy aims at restructuring the economy in connection with renewing the growth model to achieve economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, social equality towards a green economy, carbon neutrality, and contributing to limiting global warming.

Per the strategy, by 2050, 100 per cent of urban areas will have their drainage systems completed to remove the possibility of flooding. All waste water will be treated following technical standards.

In special-class and first-class municipalities, public transport will handle at least 40 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, of passenger volumes.

Meanwhile, by the time, at least 45 urban areas will ratify and implement their own master plans on developing green growth city.

Towards greener, healthier urban lives Green buildings and energy-efficient realty projects have received much global attention in past years and the latest moves from the government show that Vietnam is refusing to be left behind. Vu Ngoc Anh, director of the Science-Technology and Environment Department under the Ministry of Construction (MoC), talked with VIR’s Mai Hanh the country’s attempts to develop green properties.

Hanoi greening urban roads Together with contributing to the implementation of the Government’s target to plant 1 billion trees during the 2021-25 period, Hanoi is stepping up tree planting along urban roads and aims to plant up to 250,000 this year.