Experience in waste classification at source in the 'flagship' Nam Sach

Classification and composting at home

According to the Law on Environmental Protection, from January 1, 2025, 100% of households nationwide will have to classify household solid waste at source.

While many localities in the province have just started working and are facing difficulties, the classification and treatment of organic waste in Nam Sach district has gradually become routine after 3 years of drastic implementation.

In the communes of Nam Sach district, organic waste is mostly classified and processed at home. The amount of organic waste that must be collected and composted is quite small.

In Hop Tien commune, inorganic waste is collected twice a week on Monday and Friday. The amount of organic waste collected is only about 1 - 2 tons, because people mainly process it at home.

Households with ponds and raising livestock and poultry often use surplus food and agricultural products as animal feed. Households with gardens and fields for growing ornamental plants and vegetables compost waste to get water for irrigation and humus to make fertilizer. Some households compost in barrels, while others compost right in pits in their gardens.

Like many other communes in the district, the Women's Union of Hop Tien commune has a branch that makes IMO probiotics to provide to women to brew at home and also sells to raise charity funds.

A batch of yeast is made from yogurt, bananas, sugar, yeast, and probiotics. Women's Union members use this yeast to compost organic waste at home. Thanks to this, the amount of organic waste that needs to be transported to a centralized compost tank for treatment is not much.

According to the Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Hop Tien Commune, Dong Thi Xuan, home-based fermentation is clearly effective in treating organic waste right at home, especially for households that need to fertilize ornamental plants and vegetables. "In the future, the Women's Union will continue to replicate this model to promote the treatment of organic waste at the source," said Ms. Xuan.

This is also the way many communes in Nam Sach district do when classifying waste at source and solving the difficult problem of treating organic waste.

After a period of time, the composted organic waste becomes very dry, loose humus, without any unpleasant odor. The whole district currently has 44 locations with 120 compost compartments for organic waste. In many communes, people take it to fertilize fields growing bananas, grapefruit, peonies, and shade trees, with high efficiency.

Solving difficulties for urban areas

If organic waste in the communes is not much, in Nam Sach town, organic waste treatment is a difficult problem to solve because the population density here is high and there are many markets, schools, shops...

When it was first implemented, people reported many difficulties in the classification stage due to the small area, lack of open space, and easy odor generation. Some people did not have space to grow plants, so they did not need to compost waste for fertilizer.

Sorting organic waste in markets is also difficult because vendors mainly store it in plastic bags and do not classify it thoroughly.

To solve this problem, organic waste in Nam Sach town is currently collected daily by the environmental sanitation cooperative. After being collected, organic waste will be transferred to a composting cell in an area far from residential areas, composted with microorganisms until it becomes humus and then transferred to another location. People in need will come to collect this humus to fertilize their plants. This method is very effective.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, Deputy Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nam Sach district, said: "In Nam Sach town, garbage is currently collected daily, so there is a large amount of garbage and people do not have a place to store and compost organic waste. After a period of implementation, the treatment of organic waste has become proficient, effective and does not generate strong odors."

As Ms. Hue said, going directly to the organic waste composting tank of Nam Sach town shows a large, separately planned area, poured concrete, hundreds of square meters wide, with many organic waste composting compartments but no strong odor, no maggots or insects.

When the organic waste composting process was first implemented, maggots crawled out onto the concrete road and the garbage gave off an unpleasant smell, causing people to complain and be upset.

Experience in handling organic waste in Nam Sach district shows that composting cells must have many compartments, and old and new materials must not be mixed together. Decomposed waste must be kept separate, and new waste must not be added.

At the same time, it is necessary to cover with a tarpaulin, stir continuously and regularly add microorganisms to decompose the garbage so that it is dry, loose and does not leak water.

Although the classification and treatment of organic waste, especially in urban areas in Nam Sach, still has some problems, after a period of drastic implementation, it has shown clear effectiveness and needs to be expanded throughout the province.