Proper management of food waste, a major component of municipal solid waste (MSW), is needed, especially in developing Asian countries where most MSW is disposed of in landfill sites without any pretreatment. Source separation can contribute to solving problems derived from the disposal of food waste. An organic waste source separation and collection programme has been operated in model areas in Hanoi, Vietnam, since 2007. This study proposed three key parameters (participation rate, proper separation rate and proper discharge rate) for behaviour related to source separation of household organic waste, and monitored the progress of the programme based on the physical composition of household waste sampled from 558 households in model programme areas of Hanoi. The results showed that 13.8% of 558 households separated organic waste, and 33.0% discharged mixed (unseparated) waste improperly. About 41.5% (by weight) of the waste collected as organic waste was contaminated by inorganic waste, and one-third of the waste disposed of as organic waste by separators was inorganic waste. We proposed six hypothetical future household behaviour scenarios to help local officials identify a final or midterm goal for the programme. We also suggested that the city government take further actions to increase the number of people participating in separating organic waste, improve the accuracy of separation and prevent non-separators from discharging mixed waste improperly.
Reliable data are necessary to evaluate the current status of municipal solid waste (MSW) management and improve current treatment systems. Many developing countries, however, lack reliable data on MSW. The objectives of this study were to accumulate data on MSW in urban areas of Vietnam in 2008 in order to confirm whether the fundamental data existed at the local level, and to evaluate the reliability of the data obtained from waste treatment facilities. Questionnaires about MSW management were distributed to 90 "urban environment companies" (waste management companies) that are in charge of managing MSW in urban areas of Vietnam. A top-down approach was used in the survey, which may have contributed to the high response rate (92%). The MSW collection amounts per person per day were compared with maximum and minimum values in published data; any values above or below these values were corrected if errors were identified in data collection or entry. The total reported population with MSW collection service was 19.1 million, which is about 22% of the total population of Vietnam. The total amount of MSW collected was about 5,335,000 t, 96% of which was transported to landfill sites and 4% to composting sites. The proportion of organic waste in terms of physical composition was 65% on average. Data on the population with MSW collection service and MSW collection amounts in Vietnam were more variable (less reliable) than those in Japan, and the results of our reliability analysis suggest that installation of weighbridges at treatment and disposal facilities would improve the reliability of MSW collection data in Vietnam.
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