The global recycling market is worth approximately $2.2 trillion (according to a 2022 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report) and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. Therefore, the recycling market is considered to have great potential for green economic development, contributing to the Net Zero goal.
LTS: Green economic development is an inevitable trend in the world. Since COP 26 in Glasgow, Vietnam has implemented 12 major, comprehensive measures in 3 groups to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while ensuring energy independence and security, the benefits of the people as well as the environment. economic development goals. Last December at COP 28, the Prime Minister committed to the international community about Vietnam’s efforts to bring net emissions to “zero” by 2050 and launched a specific program for our country. . At the same time, it affirms Vietnam’s consistent policy on building a green economy, a circular economy, and proactively responding to climate change. Recently, contributing to the country’s great goals, sectors and businesses in Vietnam have begun to put green issues into the focus of operations, production and business. Initial results have been recorded, but limitations are also revealed. Join Dan Viet to find solutions to the “green” problem of industries, fields and businesses.
Vietnam has been making efforts to cooperate internationally in green energy transition, at the same time making waste treatment in a modern direction, aiming to eliminate traditional treatment methods that cause environmental pollution as a priority. Top.
In particular, waste treatment by burning waste, especially burning waste to generate electricity, is considered a long-term strategy that contributes to thorough treatment, creating living space, green space, and minimizing natural land funds.
Start the recycling race
In 2023, across the country there will be an additional Loc Ninh waste treatment and recycling factory and a plastic recycling factory with a capacity of 100,000 tons/year in Long An. In Binh Duong, Binh Duong Water and Environment Company (Biwase) is also preparing to put into operation phase 4 of the South Binh Duong solid waste treatment complex – Phase 4 in early 2024. Or in Hanoi , Thien Y waste power plant also put into operation 2 units to receive, process and convert into electricity in the first months of the year.
The fact that there are more and more waste recycling factories shows that a “race” of businesses is beginning to form. Although still small, this can be considered a good sign in the roadmap to promote the green economy and circular economy. Faced with the foretold risks of resource depletion and climate change, along with other solutions, recyclable waste should gradually take shape as a resource to be utilized, instead of just being discarded as waste. before.
If you need to give an example of the effectiveness that recycling brings, at the South Binh Duong Solid Waste Treatment Complex, Biwase said it has invested in building a circulating plant, producing organic fertilizer, burning waste into Electricity and ash after burning trash are recycled to produce bricks.
The capacity to receive and classify waste for use as organic fertilizer is 840 tons/day and the incinerator has a combined electricity generation capacity of 200 tons/day and electricity generation capacity of 5MW. When entering phase 4, the total capacity of the waste treatment complex will exceed the actual volume of waste brought to the factory today. Thus, Biwase has and will continue to ensure the treatment of all waste and is investing in excess capacity in the coming years, if the amount of waste continues to increase.
Sharing with PV Dan Viet, General Director of market development in Southeast Asia, Thien Y Energy Environment Joint Stock Company, Nguyen Thi Hong Van said that up to now, Soc Son waste power plant has gone to waste. Phase 1 and 2 will be put into operation, including 3 incinerators with a burning capacity of 2,400 tons of waste/day, a receiving capacity of 3,000 tons/day, and 2 generator sets with a generating capacity of about 50 MW.
By the end of 2023, the total volume of waste received and processed by the plant will reach over 1 million tons. The amount of electricity generated in the year is 424,800MWh. From January 2024, the factory will receive 5,000 tons/day, approximately 60% of the volume of waste generated throughout the city.
There’s still plenty of room
Talking with reporter Dan Viet, National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan – Member of the National Assembly Science, Technology and Environment Committee, said that statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment show that the amount of domestic solid waste generated nationwide is 60,000 tons/day. Of which urban areas account for 60%. In the two big cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City alone, there are 7,000 – 9,000 tons of household waste every day. By 2025, the generation rate is forecast to increase by 10-16%/year.
The figure of about 71% of the total amount of waste still being treated by landfilling is worrying. Because overcrowding has occurred, it has consequences for people’s lives and security and order. In addition, manual treatment by burning method occurs scattered in many localities, even at transit yards because waste is not transported on time.
“Not to mention the remaining amount of waste at the treatment plant is about 17%, generating 5% fly ash. Thus, up to 22% of the waste rate cannot be processed. In the long term, it can be considered a failure. If “If we cannot handle it early, we are turning from soil pollution into air pollution. Therefore, we need more recycling technology solutions with separate materials to serve different needs.” National Assembly representative Nguyen Quang Huan said.
In addition, National Assembly Member Nguyen Quang Huan said that sometimes reports from factories do not match reality, and there is still a surplus volume that has not been processed. Thus, there are still many sources of recycled materials, so instead of just following one trend. For example, burning trash to generate electricity, everywhere burns trash to generate electricity, other models are needed such as recycling of construction materials, glass, and organic biogas.
In the world, integrated waste management, especially solid waste, is developing strongly. Sharing with reporter Dan Viet, Master Thai Dung Linh, CEO of TDL Solutions Co., Ltd.; Strategic Partner of the Belgian Business Association in Vietnam said that according to the report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2022, the global recycling market is worth about 2.2 thousand billion USD. This market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, due to increasing demand for recycling.
Therefore, the recycling market is considered to have great potential for green economic development, contributing to the Net Zero goal. This is because recycling can bring many benefits, including saving natural resources by reducing the need to exploit new natural resources, creating jobs, and promoting economic growth by creating new natural resources. New valuable product..
What solution turns waste into “fortune”?
Master Thai Dung Linh said that classifying waste at source is one of the important measures to improve recycling efficiency. Garbage classification makes it easier for waste treatment plants to classify and treat waste, thereby improving recycling efficiency. According to a report from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2022, Vietnam’s waste classification rate at source is only about 15%.
The classification rate is tending to increase due to the Government’s policies to encourage recycling, and at the same time due to the increasing demand for recycled materials. To keep up with the “game”, businesses outside the industry must also proactively participate in promoting waste classification at source from many aspects. These include changing product design to minimize the amount of waste generated and be recyclable; Increase recyclable collection, ensuring that recyclables are collected properly and delivered to recycling plants. Because the waste recycling index is one of the criteria in the competitiveness index chain, something that many FDI capital sources are very interested in and strict when choosing an investment country.
Similarly, National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan said that when not classified, Vietnam’s household waste brought into the treatment plant often has a very low calorific value and high humidity, so the amount of electricity generated during the heat generation process will be affected, the economic efficiency is therefore not high compared to investment costs.
“But is it necessary to classify or not? I think we should rely on the characteristics of the volume of waste in each locality to answer this question. For example, in large cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong… The solution to sorting at the source will be very complicated. For example, each household has two additional bins for sorting and transport, requiring vehicles and additional infrastructure… creating large costs that are difficult to meet. Therefore, the solution The application of technology should be given more priority,” National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan shared.
National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan said that in localities with a daily waste volume of less than 500 tons and inclined towards agricultural production, recycling at establishments or households should be promoted. This will help reduce the amount of collection while people take advantage of the circulating fertilizer source.
At the same time, National Assembly Delegate Nguyen Quang Huan gave an example that in many countries, classification at the source is not well organized, but is using a multi-layer classification system, applying at the same time the method of blowing fans and suction magnets… right at the source. factory to separate materials for various recycling processes and produce hundreds of thousands of renewable products for the market.
Turn risks into potential to attract European investors
Master Thai Dung Linh said that green investment is an investment trend that is growing strongly in the world, including Europe. This trend reflects European investors’ commitment to implementing sustainable development goals and minimizing the negative impact of investment activities on the environment.
According to a report by the European Investment Association (EVCA), in 2022, European investors invested 683 billion euros in green projects, an increase of 11% compared to 2021. Green investment fields of greatest interest include: renewable energy, energy saving, green transportation, and waste management. The proportion of factor investments that promote green trends among European investors will also increase following the growing demand for environmentally friendly products and services. As well as European investors’ commitments to implementing sustainable development goals, minimizing the impact of investment activities on the environment.
Meanwhile, Vietnam is currently one of the developing countries with rapid economic growth. Brings environmental challenges, such as air pollution, water pollution…
“This unintentionally turns Vietnam into a market with great potential, requiring more green investment projects. In a number of areas including renewable energy, energy saving, green transportation, management waste… and has a certain attraction to European investors,” said Master Thai Dung Linh.
Attracting European investors will contribute to promoting the development of green investment projects in Vietnam, contributing to environmental protection and sustainable development. However, to catch the “eyes” of demanding investors, domestic businesses still have a lot of work to do. Accordingly, Master Thai Dung Linh stated that Vietnamese businesses need to demonstrate their ability to implement green investment projects, including the ability to access capital, project management ability, and ability to respond. Meets environmental, social and governance standards.
Specifically, cooperation with European businesses will help Vietnamese businesses access advanced technology, techniques and investment opportunities from Europe. Bilateral cooperation also helps Vietnamese businesses gain more competitive advantages in both the Vietnamese market and partner country markets in particular, and Europe in general. Regarding improving corporate governance capacity, this is a must, helping Vietnamese businesses meet the requirements of European investors.
