13/06/2016
On 24 April 2015, the Government issued Decree 38/2015/ND-CP on waste and scarp management with 9 chapters, 66 articles and 1 annex with 7 main contents.
Hazardous waste management
Hazardous waste management is an important environmental protection and waste management task. It is stipulated from Article 5 to Article 14 of the Decree. Regulations on hazardous waste are developed in principles of being feasible and ensuring strict and coherent regulations from identifying, classifying, coding, storing, collecting and transporting to treatment sites. Accordingly, hazardous waste shall be segregated by its codes and stored in appropriate boxes. Hazardous waste owners shall register at Departments of Natural Resources and Environment (DONREs) and report to them every 6 months about the waste conditions. The waste owners shall report in separate documents or in regular documents about waste storage in case transportation plans have not been finalized or suitable waste treatment facilities have not been identified. Collection, transportation and treatment of hazardous waste shall only be carried out by registered individuals and organizations. Hazardous waste collection, transportation and treatment registration are valid for 3 years since issuance dates. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) issues all types of hazardous waste registration.
In addition, the Decree regulates conditions for registration of hazardous waste treatment. It specifies that hazardous waste treatment sites are approved by provincial or higher authorities in relevant master plans. The sites need to have competent personnel.
 Hazardous waste collection, transportation and treatment shall only be conducted by registered individuals and organizations |
Domestic solid waste management
Domestic solid waste management is regulated in 14 articles, from Article 15 to Article 28 of the Decree.
Domestic solid waste management deals with its segregation and storage; responsibilities of individuals and organizations generating domestic solid waste; collection and transportation; responsibilities of collection and transportation facility owners; responsibilities and rights of treatment facility owners; rehabilitation of closed landfills; collection, transportation and treatment service contracts; collection, transportation and treatment costs and fees.
Accordingly, domestic solid waste management shall cover segregation, storage, collection, transportation and treatment. MONRE verifies or approves revised environmental requirements for domestic waste treatment facilities whose Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports are approved by MONRE, interprovincial waste treatment facilities, and mixed domestic and hazardous waste treatment facilities. Provincial People’s Committee verifies or approves revised environmental requirements for waste treatment facilities whose EIAs are approved at a provincial level and facilities only receiving waste within one province. In addition, domestic waste treatment owners shall be responsible for fulfilling all requirements of environmental conditions set out for domestic waste treatment facilities.
Industrial solid waste management
Industrial solid waste management is regulated in 7 articles, from Article 29 to Article 35.
Contents of industrial solid waste management are identification, segregation and storage; collection and transportation; environmental requirements for industrial solid waste treatment and responsibilities of facility owners of industrial solid waste.
More specifically, industrial solid waste shall be identified and segregated from hazardous waste. In case it is impossible to segregate from hazardous waste, hazardous waste regulations shall be applied. MONRE verifies or revises verification of environmental requirements for domestic waste treatment facilities whose Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports are approved by MONRE, interprovincial waste treatment facilities, and mixed domestic and hazardous waste treatment facilities. Provincial People’s Committee verifies or approves revised environmental condition verifications for waste treatment facilities whose EIAs are approved at a provincial level and facilities only receiving waste within one province. In addition, industrial solid waste treatment owners shall be responsible for fulfilling all requirements of environmental conditions set out for industrial solid waste facilities.
Wastewater management
The Decree regulates waste water management in 9 articles from Article 36 to Article 44. The covered contents are general principles of waste water management; collection and treatment; waste water discharge; waste water discharge monitoring; carrying capacity and waste water discharge permits and resources for waste water management.
Waste water shall be managed using mitigation, recycling, reuse, collection and treatment to meet with environmental regulations. When discharging waste water, facility owners shall ensure environmental regulations set out by MONRE or local authorities are met. In the meantime, waste water discharge shall be compatible with carrying capacity of the receiving environment and discharge quotas. Industrial zones shall install automatic and constant waste water monitoring systems transiting data directly to DONREs. Production, trade and service facilities outside of industrial zones discharging more than 1,000 cm3/day, night (excluding cooling water) shall install automatic and constant waste water monitoring systems and transmit data directly to local DONREs.
Carrying capacity of water environment and discharging quotas are one of the bases for developing or revising master plans for socio-economic development and sector development plans, and for considering and approving investment projects. These are new regulations of the Decree.
Government delegates MONRE to develop and issue guidelines on assessing carrying capacity of receiving environment; conduct zoning and determining waste water discharge quota, developing and issuing discharge quotas for inter-provincial river basins; manage discharge permit trading and assign provincial People’s Committees to assess carrying capacity and issue discharge permits within one province river basin, and disseminate information on overloaded receiving water bodies.
Industrial emission management
Industrial emission management is regulated in 4 articles, from Article 45 to Article 48. The regulations cover registration, inventory and development of industrial emission database; issuing industrial emission permits and industrial emission constant and automatic monitoring.
Owners of projects and facilities in a list of large emitters regulated in an annex of the Decree shall register for industrial emitters, except when the emission owners have activities regulated under hazardous waste registration or verified to meet with environmental conditions. The registration of industrial emission owners is conducted when facility enters an operational phase or when changing emission plans (for example, increasing emission amount or emission points). Owners of large emitters as regulated in an annex of the Decree shall install constant and automatic monitoring systems and transmit data directly to local DONREs.
MONRE shall process industrial emission registration and issue emission permits for existing facilities in the list of large emitters regulated in an annex of the Decree, except when the emission owners have activities regulated under hazardous waste registration or verified to meet with environmental conditions.
Industrial emission permits are valid for 5 years. When emission plans change (for example, increasing emission amount or emission points), facilities shall submit requests for reissuing industrial emission permits. Issuance of industrial emission permits shall take effect on 1 January 2018.
Special waste management
Medical waste, construction waste, agricultural waste, transportation waste, sludge dredging waste and other liquid waste shall be strictly managed. Special waste is regulated in 6 articles, from Article 49 to Article 54 of the Decree.
All medical waste (excluding medical waste water discharged into wastewater treatment systems) shall be segregated at source. Based on approved planning, geographical conditions and socioeconomic and environmental conditions, medical facilities shall develop relevant medical waste treatment plans. Priorities are given to environmentally friendly non-incineration methods. Environmental regulations shall be strictly followed.
Construction waste (from demolishing and removing building waste) shall be segregated and managed. Soil and mud from digging activities are used for tree planting and land filling in relevant sites. Waste from construction activities (discarded bricks, tiles, cements) shall be used for recycling or levelling in other construction sites or buried in construction waste landfills. Recyclable solid waste such as glass, iron, wood and plastics shall be reused and recycled.
Hazardous waste from toxic containers in agriculture and forestry activities shall be collected, stored, transported and disposed as hazardous waste regulations followed. Pesticide containers after having hazardous waste removed shall be managed as ordinary solid waste.
Waste originated in the Vietnamese territory from international transportation shall means be managed by regulations of the Decree. Import and trade regulations shall not apply.
In addition, sludge from dredging activities of marine, rivers, lakes, canals, creeks and drainage systems and other water bodies shall be collected, transported, disposed of, recycled and treated as regulated by law.
For managing non-hazardous liquid waste, waste owners shall be responsible for organizing reuse, recycling, treatment, co-treatment, energy recovery from the waste to meet with environmental regulations. In case the non-hazardous liquid waste is treated on site, waste water regulations of the Decree shall apply. In case the non-hazardous liquid waste is treated off site, the waste shall only be transferred to competent treatment facilities after the facilities receive written permission from authorities, which are in charge of approving the facilities’ environmental impact assessment or other equivalent documents.
Environmental protection in importing scraps
Environmental protection in importing scraps has been carried out for many years and resulted in considerable outcomes. To maintain this momentum, the Decree regulates environmental protection in importing scraps in 9 articles, from Article 55 to Article 63. The contents include entities eligible for importing scraps, environmental requirements in scrap importing, purposes and modality of bond/deposit, amount of deposit, deposit procedures and management of the deposit.
Following these regulations, individuals and organizations directly use imported scraps as production input and individuals and organizations entrusted by those who are allowed to use imported scraps as production input shall be eligible for importing scraps. Scrap importers shall deposit at Vietnam Environment Protection Fund or at commercial banks where the importers have operational bank accounts.
The Decree specifies responsibilities of Minister of MONRE as follows: leading and cooperating with relevant agencies in guiding and supervising scrap importing for production input in accordance with Law on Environmental Protection, submitting to Prime Minister for considering and approving scrap importing pilots and revising a list of scraps allowed to be imported for production input. In addition, provincial People’s Committees shall provide guidance for regular supervision of scrap importers and report to MONRE all relevant environmental issues by 31 March 2016.
The Decree also specifies responsibilities of relevant Ministries and provincial People’s Committees in waste and scrap management, contributing to increasing responsibilities and proactive approaches of state management agencies and tackling an increasing pollution trend in Việt Nam.
MSc. Nguyễn Thượng Hiền, Director
Nguyễn Thành Lam, Lê Thị Minh Thuần
Department of Waste Management and Environment Promotion
Vietnam Environment Administration
