Directive No. 23/2005/CT-TTg on enhancing the management of solid wastes in urban centres and industrial parks

DIRECTIVE No. 23/2005/CT-TTg OF JUNE 21, 2005, ON ENHANCING THE MANAGEMENT OF SOLID WASTES IN URBAN CENTERS AND INDUSTRIAL PARKS After five years of implementation of the "Strategy for management of solid wastes in Vietnam's urban centers and industrial parks till 2020", which was promulgated together with the Prime Minister's Decision No. 152/1999/QD-TTg of July 10, 1999, the management of solid wastes in urban centers and industrial parks has been step by step put in order and the urban environment has been gradually improved. The proportion of solid wastes gathered nationwide has been higher and higher; hygienic burial sites have been built with different capital sources; hazardous medical and industrial wastes in a number of urban centers have been gathered and treated; some new technologies to fully use solid wastes have been researched and applied; some industrial parks and export processing zones have had waste treatment projects or plans. Thanks to this, positive changes can be seen in urban centers, which have created a good prerequisite for the attainment of socio-economic development targets towards industrialization and modernization. However, the management of solid wastes in Vietnam's urban centers and industrial parks still sees many shortcomings and weaknesses. The gathered solid waste volume reaches only around 70% and mainly in urban centers; in many urban centers and industrtal parks hazardous wastes are not sorted out but buried together with domestic refuse; most urban centers and industrial parks have no hygienic or well ope rated burial sites for solid wastes, which, therefore, affects the people's life. The selection of sites or areas for burial or treatment of solid wastes in urban centers sees many difficulties due to the lack of local people's support; importance has not been attached to the research into, and perfection of, solid waste treatment technologies; existing solid waste treatment works are small, scattered and closed within administrative boundaries, thus leading to inefficient investment and management as well as waste of land; the State management of solid wastes at different levels remains weaK and inadequate. The above-said weaknesses are attributed mainly to poor awareness of the importance of environmental hygiene of a number of managing agencies at all levels, enterprises and part of the population, the undue attention and lack of practical measures to encourage the development and improvement of the quality of solid waste gathering and treatment services; the lack of a unified overall planning on the management of solid wastes nationwide as well as priority investment programs and plans; the incomplete system of normative documents, the lack of mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of solid waste gathering, transportation and treatment and the unclear mechanism of task assignment and coordination in the State management of solid wastes between the ministries, branches and local administrations as well as the heightening of their responsibilities; the lack of due attention to the management of solid wastes and serious examination and inspection as well as handling of responsibilities of violating organizations and individuals. The management of solid wastes in urban centers and industrial parks in our country is also confronted with big challenges, including the rising urban population, thE! higher living standards of people and the vigorous industrialization process, which generate more and more solid wastes and increase their hazardousness as well as persistent inorganic substances, thereby polluting water and air and increasing costs of management of solid wastes while current investment in this work remains low. With a view to raising the State management efficiency and the quality of solid waste gathering, transportation and treatment services, improving the living environment, meeting the higher and higher social demands, creating a firm foundation for the successful implementation of the Strategy for management of solid wastes in Vietnam's urban centers and industrial parks till 2020, the Prime Minister hereby instructs: 1. The ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies and People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities to consider the enhancement of management of solid wastes in urban centers and industrial parks as one of the key tasks, striving to achieve by 201 0 the following targets: al To finalize provincial, inter-provincial or particular regional planning on the management of solid wastes for urban centers and industrial parks, giving priority to the planning of solid waste burial sites; to build solid waste recycling works. b/ To perfect the system of normative documents, standards and regulations on solid wastes. To complete the formulation of mechanisms and policies on the management of solid wastes. c/ To encourage 100% of urban centers to socialize the management and treatment of solid wastes through order placing or service bidding on the basis of ensuring environment security and safety. di To sort out solid wastes at households in 100% of urban centers which are allowed to invest in the construction of solid waste recycling works. e/ To gather, transport and treat 90% of the total volume of solid wastes generated in urban centers and industrial parks, giving priority to the reuse, recycling and minimization of the volume of buried garbage, especially in urban centers lacking land fund for garbage burial sites. fl To treat 100% of hazardous medical wastes and more than 60% of hazardous industrial wastes with suitable technologies. g/ To thoroughly treat disposal sites which seriously pollute the environment under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg of April 22, 2003, approving the plan for thorough handling of establishments which seriously pollute the environment. 2. Specific tasks a/ The Ministry of Construction: To submit to the Prime Minister a scheme on an overall planning for management of solid wastes for urban centers and industrial parks in the fourth quarter of 2005. To organize the elaboration of inter-provincial and particular regional plannings for management of solid wastes and hazardous solid wastes. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Science and Technology in, revising, supplementing and formulating standards and regulations on solid waste treatment works. To work out investment programs on the experimental application of waste treatment technologies, restricting the burial of wastes, prioritizing the application of domestically developed technologies (meeting the requirements of solid waste treatment), encouraging all economic sectors to join in the research and development of waste recycling and reuse. To finalize the revision of contents and evaluate the results of implementation of the Strategy for management of solid wastes, proposing amendments and/or supplements to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2006. To submit to the Prime Minister a target program on raising the capacity and operation efficiency of enterprises involved in the management or operating in the field of treatment of solid wastes in urban centers and industrial parks. To direct the research into, and implement a number of investment projects on the construction of inter-provincial solid waste treatment areas. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and localities in elaborating plans and programs and making lists of investment projects according to groups of provinces so as to arrange budget capital or ODA capital and to mobilize other capital sources in the set order of priority. To build organizational models and adopt appropriate mechanisms and policies in order to raise the operation efficiency and service quality and boost the socialization of solid waste gathering, transportation and treatment. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Science and Technology in, organizing specialized scientific and technical councils to assess and certify technologies related to solid wastes if such technologies are applied in reality. b/ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment: • To finalize the revision of contents, and evaluate the results of implementation of the Regulation on management of hazardous wastes, propose amendments and/or supplements thereto to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2006. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Science and Technology in, reviewing and formulating a complete system of normative documents and guiding the application of environmental standards in the management of solid wastes. To assume the prime responsibility for formulating regulations on coordination between environmental inspectorates and construction inspectorates at all levels with a view to enhancing the inspection and examination work, promoting the efficiency of prevention and redressing of environmental pollution caused by wastes, especially industrial wastes. c/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment: To balance and arrange enough capital sources for planning, programs and projects on solid wastes and thorough treatment of disposal sites which cause serious pollution under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg of April 22, 2003. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and localities in, arranging capital for the management of solid wastes of provinces in line with the approved programs and plans, avoiding repetition and ensuring the compliance with order of priority. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction in, guiding the mechanism of bidding and order placing for public-utility products and services of urban technical infrastructure, formulating a model contract on the supply of public-utility products and services between competent State agencies and units providing such products or services. d/ The Finance Ministry: In the second quarter of 2006, to assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in, drafting and submitting to the Government for promulgation a decree on environmental protection charges on solid wastes. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the ministries, branches and localities in, reviewing, studying and submitting to competent authorities for amendment and perfection of financial mechanisms and policies as well as solid waste gathering and treatment service charges, with a view to encouraging the research into, and application of, new technologies to minimize, treat, recycle and reuse wastes, as well as transport equipment manufacturing and specialized treatment technologies in the field of solid wastes. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in, formulating mechanisms and policies to support and encourage investment projects in the field of waste treatment, recycling and reuse. e/ The Ministry of Science and Technology: To review and promulgate a consistent system of standards on solid wastes. f/ The Ministry of Industry: To make statistics and assessment of assorted industrial wastes, and coordinate with the Ministry of Construction in implementing the planning on management of industrial solid wastes, especially hazardous industrial wastes. To submit to the Prime Minister in the fourth quarter of 2005 a scheme to limit and gradually reduce the use of toxic chemicals and packaging made of persistent industrial materials, replacing them with environment-friendly raw materials and materials. g/ The Ministry of Health: In the third quarter of 2006, to finalize the review of contents and appraisal of the results of implementation of the Regulation on management of medical solid wastes, and propose amendments and/or supplements thereto. To work out programs and plans for implementation of the overall planning on management of medical solid wastes after it is promulgated by the Prime Minister. hi The Ministry of Culture and Information: To direct propagation, education and popularization of normative documents and pressing issues on management of environmental hygiene through the mass media such as increasing broadcasting time volume, radio, television and print news stories on environment, raising public awareness and sense of responsibility for the management of wastes. i/ The provincial/municipal People's Committees: From now to 2006, provinces and centrally run cities must finalize the revision and adjustment or formulation of plannings on management and treatment of solid wastes in urban centers and industrial parks, taking into consideration provincial and inter-provincial factors. In the third quarter of 2005, to finalize the elaboration of plans on concentrated treatment of medical wastes for urban and suburban medical establishments so as to bring into full play capacities of incinerators already invested and built. To set and promulgate service charge rates for their respective localities on the basis of estimated norms promulgated by the Construction Ministry, and at the same time, to organize the implementation of bidding or order-placing mechanism for the gathering, transportation and treatment of solid wastes. To direct and strictly supervise the periodical declaration of volumes and composition of solid wastes of industrial establishments in localities. Right in 2005, to take effective measures to force industrial establishments to thoroughly treat their solid wastes with appropriate solutions. For hazardous industrial wastes, to sign treatment contracts with qualified and permitted units. To direct the sorting out of solid wastes at households in urban centers where solid waste recycling works have been built. To strengthen, consolidate and reorganize the State enterprises under their management, raising the latter's all-round capacities for the good supply of public-utility products and services in localities. To adopt specific preferential policies to encourage other economic sectors to invest in the management of solid wastes in localities. To organize propagation, mobilization, information dissemination and popularization through ward and commune broadcasting programs and regular activities of women's unions, youth's unions and population quarters so as to regularly raise the community's awareness and, at the same time, enhance inspection, examination and supervision of the units involved in management of solid wastes in localities as well as people's sense of law observance, to adopt measures to strictly handle violations of regulations on environmental protection. 3. Organization of implementation The ministers, the heads of ministerial-leve agencies, the heads of agencies attached to the Government, and the presidents of the People'i Committees of provinces and centrally-run citiei shall have to implement this Directive. The Ministry of Construction shall have to inspect urge, monitor and periodically report to the Prime Minister on the implementation of this Directive. Prime Minister PHAN VAN KHAI