3R Technology: Change habit for a new industry

(Summarized)
Article 1: Waste at modern time

Morning 18 March, in the Opera House Square, drumming opened the launching
ceremony of the 3R Hanoi Project. The Model Reduce-Reuse- Recycle will be expanded to
the whole city. After 3 others of Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, Hanoi is the fourth city
implementing a material sound cycle society though changing people’s habit.;

Pressure to the environment

According to insufficient statistics, Hanoi disposes an average of waste of 2,500 tons everyday
which cause a great pressure.

First pressure is about landfills. In the recent, most of un-separated waste collected from
households in the city have been dumped to Nam Son landfill (Son Son). According to JICA,
with the current waste increasing rate of 15%, Nam Son landfills will be over loaded in coming
10 years.

The second is to the environment when there are plenty kinds of waste in landfills. Nylons
underground will not be disintegrated even after hundreds ofyears. Organic waste on the other
hand smells bad and easily causes diseases. Water from landfills can directly influence to the
underground water. Every year, URENCO Hanoi spends billions VND for waste water only.

Mr. Chu Van Chung, director of URENCO Hanoi said: “Waste is very useful and needs to be
collected, separated and recycled. Organic waste can be fertilizer for agriculture production;
plastic, glass, iron, steel can be recycled for serving life... Further, waste separation at source will
help reduce social expense.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Hong, Cau Dien Waste Disposal Factory said his workers worked 8 hours per
day for waste treatment and one third of the factory’s expense was for waste separation The
factory treateda total of 150 tons every day of which 50 tons are necessary to be transported to
Nam Son landfills after separation.

In recent 5 years, in Phan Chu Trinh ward, people have got used to waste separation at source. In
stead of just 1 garbage basket, there are 2 in each family. Each household are provided 2 kinds of
plastic bag: black and white for carrying organic and inorganic waste. UENCO arranges 2 kinds
of vehicles: one for carrying inorganic waste to Nam Son, one for organic waste to Cau Dien.
Also, URENCO has run an organic waste production assemble line with a treatment capacity of
50,000 ton /year for 13,500 tons of organic fertilizer. The assemble line produced its first tons of
organic fertilizer without metal which are checked by MARD and on the nationwide market now.

Reality shows that waste which seems to be the last action of every process is a start now
especially when they are used as material for another industry.

Article 2: A cycle industry

* Hanoi will save an average amount of 4 billion VND of waste treatment thanks to3R
technology. Macro methods are very necessary to maintain a scientific and economical
habit of the people in dropping waste. It is also the way to develop human view on “A cycle
society”.

A new industry

With the successful implementation of the source separation in some pilot areas and reference to
many countries’ experience, Ha Noi will disseminate this model to the whole city.

From 2007-2009, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will fund 3 million USD to
implement 3R Initiative – Reduce-Reuse-Recycle. This project will be implemented in 4
districts: Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trung, Dong Da and Ba Dinh. The Project is studying a suitable
waste collection model for every area which will collect organic waste everyday, and not use
waste-trolley as usual to save human resource and finance.

According to JICA, if Ha Noi changes its current waste collecting system into 3R model, it will
save about 4 billion VND for waste treatment every month. In 2006, Cau Dien Waste Disposal
Factory processed 10.000 tons of organic fertilizer from waste. “Now, we only run 70% capacity.
It is expected that factory will treat 300 tons of waste per day when the new waste collection
model comes into operation in the future.” – An officer of Cau Dien Waste Disposal Factory said.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hong, Cau Dien Waste Disposal Factory said “We have supplied organic
fertilizer to provinces in the North and Central. With consumption in 2006 and contracts in 2007,
the factory has to provide 7-8.5 thousand tons of organic fertilizer per year. It is the most
important that this fertilizer has been accepted by farmers.”

Needs to “do” in macro level

However, a question is currently raised: when the project finishes and plastic bags are not
provided free, will this modern habit still continue?
Japan’s experience shows that the Government has to not only propagandize to people realizing
benefits from waste separating, but also to promulgate law frameworks on separating, recycling
and reusing waste. Japan promulgated the Law on promoting the use of recycled resources (in
1991), Basic Law on Environment (in 1993) and Law on collecting and recycling packing (in
1995). Laws could make the change in people and producers’ waste dropping habit. Dropping
waste would become an “expensive” action making people consider carefully when they buy
something. Like this, people will change their habit and use products which are good for
environment.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hong spent half of his life for environment work told us: “The source
separation activity helps to produce “clean” agricultural products, not using inorganic chemical.
Especially, this activity also contributes to make a cycle life: people produce goods, consume and
waste it. And finally, goods are recycled in another form. This cycle itself makes the society
develop sustainably.”
(Tin tuc- News, 19 & 20 Mar. 2007)

Notes:

3R Booth at EPIF 2008

3R Booth at EPIF 2008

The 3R- Hanoi project held a MOTTAINAI Fair (flea market) on15th March at the Children's
Palace to share the concept of MOTTAINAI and to experience how we can implement
MOTTAINAI. The MOTTAINAI Fair attracted 3,000 people mainly from model project area.

Prior to it, from 01 to 04 March 2008 at the NationalConferenceCenter in My Dinh, Hanoi, the
3R Hanoi Project joined in the Eco Products International Fair (EPIF) 2008. EPIF is an annual
event organized in one country to another to encourage people's attention to the environmental
protection through displaying recycled and reused products.

Project for Implementation Support for 3R INITIATIVE in Hanoi City to Contribute to the
Development of a Sound Material-Cycle Society (3R-HN)

Cooperation Period: November 2006 to November 2009

  Executing Agency: Hanoi Urban Environment Company (Hanoi URENCO)

1.1 Summary

The rapid economic development and urbanization of Vietnam have resulted in an increase in
solid waste, particularly in cities. As of 2003, the annual waste generated in the country was 15
million tons, at least 12.8 million of which were produced by cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi
Minh City. About 30 percent of this urban garbage lies on public roads uncollected or is disposed
illegally in lakes or ponds, creating improper drainage conditions and underground water
pollution.

To address the situation, the Vietnamese government is taking steps such as revising its
environmental protection laws and adopting Vietnam Agenda 21, a program focused on
sustainable development with care for the environment. As a part of this organization, the
concept of reduce, reuse, recycle (the 3Rs) is given high precedence under the 3R Initiative.

In Hanoi, the reduction of solid waste and recycling are being promoted as part of a national
strategy, though the infrastructures to do so are lacking. Currently, the scope of collection is
limited as only those objects of value are collected by informal collectors. To build a recycling
community based on the 3R Initiative, the citizens of Hanoi must adequately understand the 3Rs
and the issues of waste, and further, an urban garbage management system must be created
whose basic functions are the collection and separation of waste.

JICA therefore implemented this technical cooperation project (3R-HN) toward creating a
recycling community with cooperation from Hanoi URENCO and related agencies. Under 3R-
HN, four model areas were being created in Hanoi, where waste was separated and then
collected or composted. Environmental education activities were also being carried out to teach
Hanoi citizens the Japanese concept of “mottainai” or the importance of the 3Rs. Based on the
results of the separation and collection project in the model districts, a strategic paper was being
prepared toward improving the urban garbage collection system through discussion by a wide
range of stakeholders and organization of the “3R Stars.”

It is hoped that 3R-HN will put the 3Rs into practice in Hanoi and contribute toward the creation
of a recycling-oriented community.
1.2 Project Highlights

Gaining Ground – the 3R Movement

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, then-Deputy Director of Hanoi URENCO, made an appeal about the
garbage crisis, saying that if waste continues to increase at the current rate, the Nam Son landfill
would soon break down. He said, “We cannot ignore the adverse effects on the environment—the
disposal expenses, odors and water pollution. It is imperative that the government and the
citizens think together to find solutions.”

In November 2006, URENCO and JICA began the project based on mutual cooperation. The 3R-
HN was a comprehensive residential environment improvement project to separate and collect
garbage, implement composting and provide environment education in four districts within
Hanoi.

Citizen Cooperation Indispensible for 3R Success

Since separation and collection began using the 3R concept, the amount of garbage lying on the
streets has decreased in the model districts. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, a member of the housewife
committee in the Lang Ha district said, “I was so happy when I heard about the 3Rs. It’s also so
encouraging to have all of this cooperation from the Japanese experts.”

Organizations have been springing up such as the 3R Volunteer Club (3R-VC) made up of
students and young workers in their twenties, and the Go Green Club (GGC), which is affiliated
with people having concern for environmental problems.

Ms. Dang Lang Ngoc of the 3R-Volunteer Club (3R-VC) and Ms. Dang Ngoc Phuong of the Go
Green Club (GGC) expressed the need for the energy of young people to educate society on the
environment. They are inspired to create a great environmental movement that is powered by
events and activities.

Activities of the 3R-VC and GGC include environmental education for children in a “Mottainai
Fair” and creating a “free market” for participants to exchange unwanted items. With the support
of Toyota and the FPT Group of Vietnam, they also manufacture and distribute eco-bags made
from post-consumer plastic as part of their campaign to educate people on the magnitude of the
environmental problem.

Continued PR the Key to Success

Ms. Luong Thi Man Huong works at the environmental education and public relations division
of URENCO and thinks about the future of the 3R movement. Ms. Huong said, “I have heard
that it took 12 years to establish separation and collection in Japan. I’m sure it takes continued
efforts to convince citizens to change their long-term habits.”

3R-HN was completed in November, 2009. Nowadays, voluntary activities to separate and
collect garbage have also been started outside of the model areas. This brings great hope for
further expansion of the 3R-HN’s outputs.