Vientiane residents to access sustainable waste management system

Laos and international partners are uniting to develop the nation’s capital into a city where all citizens have access to adequate waste collection services, under the concept ‘Clean, Green, and Livable Vientiane’.
Experts from Vientiane City Office for Management and Service (VCOMS), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) met on Friday to consult on the sustainable solid waste management strategy and action plan for Vientiane 2020-2030.

The consultation workshop aimed to convene multi-stakeholders including national/sub-national/district governments and international development partners who have been active in promoting sustainable solid waste management and solicit their feedback and inputs to the draft of the strategy.
The workshop also communicated the major targets to be achieved by 2030 and mobilised support from both concerned departments and international partners for the Lao government.
The strategy and action plan will be presented at the local assembly of Vientiane and endorsed by the mayor of Vientiane.
KOICA funded the development of the strategy as part of the “Wastewater and Solid Waste Treatment Capacity Building Project for City Environment Improvement in Laos” with seed funding from the Environmental Protection Fund.
During the workshop, GGGI experts outlined the strategic outcomes, including to increase access to adequate waste collection services by developing of a new waste collection fee structure and payment mechanisms, along with law enforcement and raising awareness.
Strategic outcomes will maximise waste-to-resource opportunities through an adoption of source separation and separation transportation mechanisms. This will be achieved by setting up city-wide source separation mechanisms and distribution of proper bins for source separation and a decentralised material recovery centre and waste up cycling facilities.
 Strategic outcomes will maximise the material recovery rate by increasing waste treatment capacity through mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) facilities.
The initiative will minimise waste generation by establishing a progressive target for waste generation per capita up to 2030 with the help of an awareness raising campaign.
It will also improve the financial and operational efficiency of the sector and VCOMS’s roles and responsibilities in waste collection service provision and treatment and foster green/decent job opportunities for the informal sector in waste management.
Vientiane Vice Mayor, Mr Phoukhong Bannavong and Country Representative of GGGI in Laos, Jason Leeco-chaired the stakeholder consultation workshop in Vientiane on Friday.
According to the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Vision and Strategy, it aims to promote the 3Rs (Recycle, Reuse, Reduce) to realise a ‘Clean, Green, and Livable Vientiane’, by 2030. Vientiane will become a city where all citizens have access to adequate waste collection services, with a high share of waste recovered through municipal-led waste-to-resource initiatives and facilities.
Source separation will be understood/practised as a responsibility of every member of society while per capita waste generation rates will be reduced.
Vientiane will be recognised as a city where the informal waste pickers are integrated into the formal waste management system and benefit from social protection schemes.

By Time Reporters
(Latest Update June 17, 2020)