From January 1, 2022, the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 will officially take effect with many new regulations related to household waste collection. Most notably, people in households and individuals who do not separate garbage will be refused collection.
According to Clause 2, Article 77 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, daily-life solid waste collection and transport establishments have the right to refuse to collect and transport daily-life solid wastes of households and individuals that do not separate them by type or fail to use the correct packaging, and notify the competent authority for inspection and handling in accordance with the law.
Uncomfortable smell and sights from informal garbage sites in big cities (Photo: TTXVN)
According to Clause 1, Article 75 of this Law, daily-life solid waste from households and individuals must be classified as follows: Solid waste capable of being reused or recycled; Food waste; Other domestic solid waste.
Acts of not classifying garbage according to regulations will be fined from 15 to 20 million VND (according to Clause 4, Article 20 of Decree 155/2016/ND-CP).
In addition, the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 also stipulates that the charge for domestic waste is based on the volume of garbage. Clause 1, Article 79 of this Law on the cost of collection, transportation and treatment of daily-life solid waste clearly states that the service charges for the collection, transportation and treatment of daily-life solid waste from households and individuals are calculated according to many bases including based on the weight or volume of waste that has been classified.
Although the Law on Environmental Protection officially will take effect on January 1, 2022, according to Clause 7, Article 79 of this Law, depending on each locality, the regulations on charging waste per kilogram may be applied at different times, from January 1, 2022 and no later than December 31, 2024.
By Tram Anh Pham
“Trâm Anh is a Hanoi-based sustainability promoter and writer. She is on the mission to create a sustainability movement for SMEs in Vietnam. She is the founder of Good Human, an environmental group with engaging contents and campaigns related to sustainability and circular economy. Get in touch with Trâm Anh at tramanh.pham161@gmail.com for collaboration and partnership!