Waste management in Laos, especially in Vientiane, has long been a longstanding concern. Thanks to the World Bank for its financial support the Pollution and Waste Management Project.

World Bank backs Lao efforts to manage waste, plastics, pollution

The World Bank on June 13 approved a project to strengthen the management of waste, plastics, and pollution in Laos, with a focus on improving municipal solid waste services in Vientiane.
The Lao government’s Environment Protection Fund and Ministry of Public Works and Transport will implement the US$37.85 mil-lion Pollution and Waste Management Project from 2025 to 2031 as part of a commitment to a cleaner development pathway.
The focus on municipal solid waste in Vientiane, the country’s capital and largest waste generator, will provide a model for other cities, thereby amplifying its impact across Laos.
Through the project, the government will invest in waste collection equipment, transfer and treatment facilities, including upgrading a landfill facility outside Vientiane.
The project will also support development of a compliance monitoring system that will help the government enforce pollution control regulations, increase the accuracy and reliability of air and water quality monitoring stations, and strengthen the legal framework for waste management.
Waste workers will receive vocational and occupational health and safety training and protective equipment.
World Bank Manager for the Lao PDR, Alex Kremer, said “Air and water pollution have been longstanding concerns for Laos, while solid and plastic waste management problems are also growing.”
“This project will help the government address these issues and will also contribute to efforts to reduce the amount of waste that flows down the Mekong River to the ocean,” he said.
The project will directly benefit around 645,000 residents of Vientiane by providing better waste management, and will bring improved working conditions, training, and employment opportunities to 264 waste pickers at the Vientiane landfill.
It will support efforts to achieve 100 percent solid waste collection in Vientiane, while maximising material recovery and financial and operational efficiency, and also back the National Plastics Action Plan in reducing the prevalence of single-use plastics and enhancing re-cycling.
Funded by a low-interest International Development Association credit and a grant from PROBLUE, a multi-donor trust fund that helps countries adopt a blue economy, the project is part of the World Bank-financed Southeast Asia Regional Programme on Combatting Marine Plastics.
This is  a joint initiative with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to reduce plastic consumption, increase recycling, and minimise land-and sea based marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia.
Waste generation has greatly increased in Laos over recent years, particularly in urban centres. The annual cost of health-related impacts from air and water pollution, poor sanitation and hygiene, and lead exposure was estimated at 14.6 percent of GDP in 2017.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update June 18, 2025)