Management of Solid Wastes in Vietnam
An Industrial Ecology Study by Thao Nguyen
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Adviser: Prof. Nickolas J. Themelis, Earth and Environmental Engineering
In the past decade, strong economic growth and uncontrolled urbanization have greatly magnified the problems with Vietnam’s solid waste management system, pushing waste management to the forefront of environmental challenges with which it must contend. Not only has there been an increase in the amounts of waste generated, the composition of the waste has changed as well. The current system is already overtaxed due to lack of institutional capacity and insufficient human and capital resources as can be evidenced by low collection rates and inadequate waste facilities. Given socio-economic trends, the issue of how to deal with its solid waste will only become more critical as Vietnam industrializes.