Hanoi will require households to sort their waste into three categories starting January 8 under new regulations that allow collection companies to refuse improperly separated rubbish. The rules, issued under Decision 87 signed by Vice Chairman Nguyen Manh Quyen, mark the most significant reform of the capital’s household waste management system in more than a decade.
Under the new framework, waste must be separated at source into recyclable materials, food waste, and hazardous waste. Collectors are authorised to reject unsorted rubbish or waste placed in non-compliant containers and may report violations to local authorities for inspection and penalties. Households are responsible for providing their own containers.
Recyclables include materials such as paper, plastic, wood, rubber, and electrical equipment. Food waste covers leftovers, expired products, and kitchen scraps, which may be composted, used as animal feed, or collected by authorised operators. The hazardous category includes pesticide containers, paint, used batteries, accumulators, and bulky items such as broken furniture and door frames. Bulky waste must be transferred to licensed collectors for a fee or delivered by residents to designated collection points free of charge. Hazardous household waste may be stored temporarily at home or taken to scheduled collection points set by local authorities.
The regulation also applies to organisations generating less than 300 kilograms of domestic waste per day, which may opt to follow the same waste management rules as households.
City officials say the overhaul aims to reduce landfill dependence and improve recycling rates in a city that generates approximately 7,500 tonnes of household waste daily. The Department of Agriculture and Environment has been assigned to develop a new pricing mechanism for waste collection, transport, and treatment, potentially paving the way for volume-based disposal fees. Currently, residents in urban wards pay a flat fee of about VND 24,000 (USD 0.9) per household per month, while those in rural communes pay roughly half that amount.
Source: The Straits Times
