27/06/2016
Việt Nam has started a trial Project to collect and treat electronic - electric waste (The WEEE Project) called the Vietnam Recycles. Initiated by electric-electronic manufacturers, the project aims at recollecting for free used or broken electronic devices for safe and eco-friendly recycling of the waste.
All the devices that have been used or at fault, collected in this project, will be treated according to safety rules to reach the maximum level of natural resources recovery and ensure a professional waste treatment approach.
Vietnam Recycles is managed by Vietnam Recycling Platform (VRP), consortium of leading producers, led by Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd (HP) and Apple South Asia Pte. Ltd (Apple), of electrical and electronic equipment founded to reduce electronic waste, increase recycling and manage the environmental, health and safety impact of products at the end of their life cycles. This project shall be applied for both manufacturers and end-use customers to assist the community to strictly follow the Regulations on Recollecting and Recycling of Electronic Waste, approved by the Prime Minister and effective from January 1, 2015. Moreover, the project also aims at helping other manufacturers increase their responsibility in recollecting, treating and recycling the outdated electronic home appliances, electric and industrial equipment.
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| Figure 1. Recollecting waste from government offices via PRO model |
The pilot project entails three phases: the 1st phase: Recollect from government agencies or manufacturers; the 2nd phase: cooperate with unofficial recollecting channels; the 3rd phase: recollect from end-users and customers. At the moment, the pilot project focuses on the first phase with particular goals as follows: A recollecting and recycling system set up in the first quarter of 2015 via the VRP group allows other participating manufacturers to act accordingly to the law; collect information on the types and quantity of waste discarded by customers via an official VRP recollecting channel; Recycling Standards designed and applied by VRP shall be the foundation to work out national standards for local manufacturers to use in treating waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Vietnam Recycles will collect and recycle all the expired electrical and electronic devices with the most updated technology, performed by professionals and eco-friendly to maximize the recovered natural resources after recycling. Since the end of January 2015, the project has provided the free-of-charge recollecting and recycling services for government offices, organizations and associations and business customers in Ha Noi and HCM City. At the end of July 2015, the project shall be expanded to serve the residents in the two cities to recollect and recycle the expired electrical and electronic devices discarded by the people.
The project will recollect all the electrical and electronic equipment, manufactured by any of the VRP member companies. At the moment, the equipment recollected free of charge include: computers (personal and laptop), monitors, CPUs, printers, fax machines, scanners, mobile phones and tablets, photocopiers, batteries of all kinds and other accessories closely related to computers such as keyboards, mouses, cables and chargers.
Program Operating Model
The process of recollecting from government agencies via the Producer Responsibility Organisation that includes five entities to take part: government agencies, co-ordinating office (of the Producer Responsibility Organisation), transport service provider, local recycling partner and producer’s international recycling partner. Figure 1 shows the 1st Phase: Recollecting waste from government offices via PRO model:
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| Figure 2. PRO operating model |
Steps in this recollecting process include: government agencies request WEEE collecting. PRO office shall confirm this request and contact the customers to fix a date and location for waste pick up; PRO arranges a pick up schedule with the designated transport service provider; the transport provider completes its service as committed at the agreed location; the transport provider collects WEEE at its warehouse before sending it further to the recycling partner designated by the producer; The WEEE that needs further treatment shall be transported to a designated location by the producer (only if local recycling establishments are not able to handle this type of waste).
The government agencies recollecting system shall be expanded further (Business to Business) via PRO by the Producer (or group of producers), or the Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR). The PRO operating model can be overviewed as follows:
Role and responsibility of benefactors in the PRO model
For the Government: Implement and supervise the implementation of WEEE related regulations at every single step of the value chain; Ensure an equal playground for all benefactors of the project. Government’s legal regulations must provide their recycling standards equally compatible with those recognized in the world for electronic waste recyclers making sure that the recovered material are treated accordingly in an eco-friendly manner from the moment it’s recovered, treated including reporting, labour safety and violation management. Those equal and fair playgrounds are very important to protect the environment and ensure that the recycling market works in stable conditions; Pioneering and directing the implementation process on education, public awareness campaign on electronic waste and encourage people from all walks of life to take part in the government’s and producers’ recollecting network; set up a sustainable and effective waste recollecting network; assist and provide advantageous conditions for recycling establishments to develop high quality recycling unit that abides all local and international regulations on electronic waste treatment.
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| Figure 3. A pilot point recollecting and recycling WEEE |
For the Producer: Incorporate all relevant agencies to set up a management system (recollecting, classification and recycling); set up a financial mechanism for recollecting and recycling; coordinate with government agencies to carry out public awareness campaign, strictly follow all WEEE related regulations, promoting campaign for WEEE among the government to improve it regularly.
Local government recollecting centers and distribution businesses: Coordinate with the government to set up a recollecting network; manage their own recollecting activities and transport the classified waste to the producers or the recyclers for appropriate treatment; take part in education programs by the government, strictly follow WEEE related regulations.
For recycling establishments: Join with the government to build recycling infrastructure (training or defining resources); join with the producers to set up a sustainable recollecting WEEE (costs, standards); coordinate with the unofficial recollecting network to build/manage a sustainable and responsible system; following WEEE requirements (license, report)
For end-users: Take products to the WEEE recollecting points, designated by the producers or the landfill approved by the government.
Thanh Liêm
