By the end of 2020, Dong Nai basically fulfiled its target of collecting and treating 100% of domestic waste, reducing landfill waste to less than 15% and promoting waste recycling for environmental sustainability.
According to Sonadezi Service Joint Stock Company (SDV) – one of the key players in domestic waste treatment in Dong Nai province, in order to contribute to the provincial goal of waste collection and recycling, capacity building and service quality in waste collection and treatment are fundamental factors. Also, environmental awareness and coordinated actions of waste generators including local households and and businesses are of importance, especially in waste sorting at source and in monitoring by waste generators of the end-to-end waste treatment process.
Care given to selection of qualified and professional contractors.
Currently, the daily volume of domestic waste generated in Dong Nai province is about 1,885 tons, the largest of which is from 31 industrial parks and thousands of enterprises in the province. Waste generators’ efforts in domestic waste treatment, including selection of qualified waste collection and treatment contractors and waste recycling in accordance with regulations, will contribute to local environmental protection.
Operating the waste incinerator at SDV’s Quang Trung Waste Treatment Plant
According to SDV, in addition to wastewater and industrial waste treatment, businesses are increasingly interested in the treatment of domestic waste, especially through recycling. Since SDV’s launch of business waste collection and treatment services in 2012, the number of businesses actively learning about its technology and signing service contracts with SDV has grown by about 20% annually. SDV has developed a portfolio of 50 corporate clients who are using its domestic waste collection, transportation and treatment services with a monthly volume of about 180,000 tons.
For industrial waste alone, SDV is collecting hazardous and non-hazardous industrial wastes of enterprises in Dong Nai province with an average volume of 130 tons/day, before treating them by recycling, rinse, sanitary landfill, incineration, safe landfill, solidification, bulb crushing and liquid waste treatment solutions under the Hazardous Waste Treatment License No. QLCTNH 5.100. VX issued for the 3rd time by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on January 14, 2020.
In addition to waste treatment as contracted with enterprises, SDV’s Quang Trung waste treatment plant is currently treating domestic waste from Thong Nhat, Tan Phu, Vinh Cuu, Nhon Trach, Long Thanh, Trang Bom, Bien Hoa City and Long Khanh City. All domestic waste is now treated at the Waste Recycling Station that can handle up to 1,200 tons/day (400 tons/8 hours/2 systems). Over 80% of the organic waste received and sorted at the station will be transferred to aerobic composting workshops for composting, the percentage of inert waste for landfill is less than 15%, and the rest 5% is recovered, recycled and reused.
All equipment and technology at the Waste Recycling Station for composting are fully imported by SDV from Europe. Its system can thoroughly treat generated domestic waste, ensuring that the rate of inert waste for landfill is below 15%, without causing environmental pollution.
SDV workers are collecting non-hazardous industrial waste at A First Vina Co., Ltd
However, in Dong Nai province, there are few large-scale treatment facilities like Quang Trung waste treatment plant where eco-friendly technologies are installed in line with statutory standards. Meanwhile, domestic waste generators do not have binding responsibilities over performance of their waste collection, transport and treatment service providers, nor have they managed the linkage between waste collection, transport and treatment facilities as prescribed.
Local authorities have strengthened awareness raising activities and requested waste generators to check and monitor the capacity and delivery of commitment of waste collection and treatment facilities. Many local companies are contracting collectors which are cooperatives having connections or directly partnering with treatment facilities but they hardly conduct monitoring or inspection of waste treatment. In addition, many treatment facilities have not provided necessary conditions to ensure that domestic solid waste is treated and recycled, and the landfill rate is less than 15%.
Increasing the capacity of domestic waste treatment
As noted by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Dong Nai currently has 7 waste treatment plants/complexes with 11 ongoing projects on waste collection and treatment. Currently, only 2/5 of domestic waste treatment plants have successfully reduced the landfill rate to below 15%, which are Quang Trung waste treatment plant (at 14.5%) and the waste treatment plant in Tuc Trung commune – Dinh Quan district (at around 10%). Other facilities are yet to fulfill this target as they have not been licensed to operate an incinerator, provided environmental safety conditions, invested in production lines according to their design or completed legal procedures.
Currently, the total daily volume of waste treated for composting in Dong Nai is 1,218 tons, compared with about 55 tons treated by daily incineration, about 303 tons for safe landfill and about 58 tons for temporary storage every day. It is expected that the volume of locally generated waste will increase rapidly given its development of industrial activities, urban areas and population.
Liquid waste collection at Daikan Vietnam Co., Ltd
Given this situation, SDV is further developing its waste treatment practices using modern technologies to help address local waste treatment needs. Specifically, SDV is investing in an incinerator project (run by European technology and equipment) in Quang Trung waste treatment plant to thoroughly treat the remaining 14.5% of inert waste which is being buried.
This is an important and final piece in its system of waste collection, transportation and treatment services at Quang Trung waste treatment plant. The incinerator will tentatively be launched in 2022, expecting to handle 150 tons of waste daily in its phase 1 and generating (NET) 3.42 MW/module.
At the moment, Quang Trung waste treatment plant is handling the largest amount of domestic waste by incineration and composting in Dong Nai province, around 1,200 tons every day. The project covers an area of 130 hectares and its total (adjusted) investment is more than VND 647 billion. Development items at Quang Trung waste treatment plant have been basically completed and put into operation, including a waste recycling station for composting purposes, a waste incinerator that can handle 1 ton every hour, a solidification station handling 20 tons of waste every day, a liquid waste physio-chemical treatment station with a daily capacity of 100 tons and a concentrated wastewater treatment station with a capacity of 200 m3/day, for which VND 421 billion has been invested.
Waste recycling station for composting purposes in Quang Trung Waste Treatment Plant
As noted by a provincial leader, collecting 100% of domestic solid waste and reducing the landfill rate to less than 15% (compared with the national average of 70%) demonstrate great efforts of the local government, businesses and citizens. In order to maintain and deliver better results in the future, Dong Nai is promoting and creating enabling conditions for development of local waste treatment plants as scheduled and in line with legal requirements. Dong Nai also encourages businesses and citizens to better exercise the rights and responsibilities of waste generators, contributing to green and sustainable economic development in the province.
A Japanese enterprise, OM Digital Solutions Co., Ltd, based in Long Thanh Industrial Park stated that: “We focus on increasing reuse/recycling rates, waste sorting at source and monitoring performance on a regular basis. We believe that selection of a fully qualified waste treatment service provider will contribute to environmental protection and compliance with the law. We carefully review every contractor’s capacity profile before making final decisions. In our opinion, it is necessary to clearly state in the legal documents that enterprises are obliged to sign contracts with capable waste collection, transport and treatment facilities.
Regarding its selection of SDV as the waste collection, transport and treatment service provider, a representative of OM Digital Solutions noted that: “Our contractors are selected based on such criteria as scale of services, ability to meet work progress, treatment technologies, customer response time, price competitiveness and convenience, flexibility in problem solving. SDV is the one that meets these criteria”.