Municipal Solid Waste Management 4-1 4.1 the Capital of Vientiane
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Data Collection Survey on Waste Management Sector in The Lao People’s Democratic Republic Final Report February 2021 JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY EX Research Institute Ltd. CTI Engineering International Co., Ltd. GE KOKUSAI KOGYO CO., LTD. JR 21-004 Locations of Survey Target Areas 1. Meeting at Transfer Station 2. Vang Vieng Landfill Site 3. Savannakhet UDAA 4. Online meeting with MONRE’s Vice Minister 5. Outlook of Health-care Waste Incinerator, 6. Final disposal site in Xayaboury District Luang Prabang District 7. Factory visit to EPOCH Co., Ltd. 8. DFR Joint-Workshop (online) Survey Photos Executive Summary 1. Background and objective In the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos), the remaining capacity of the final disposal site in cities is becoming insufficient due to the influence of the population increase and the progress of urbanization in recent years. The waste collection rate remains at a low level. In many cases, medical waste and hazardous waste are also dumped in municipal waste disposal sites and vacant lots without proper treatment. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is in charge of formulating policies and plans for overall environmental measures, including waste management, and coordinating related ministries and agencies. On the other hand, the actual waste management work is under the jurisdiction of different ministries and agencies depending on the type of waste. In the central government, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) oversees general waste, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) is in charge of industrial waste, and the Ministry of Health (MOH) is in charge of medical waste. Specific standards and rules are prepared mainly based on the ministry ordinances created and promulgated by the relevant ministries and agencies for each type of waste. At the municipal level, the Urban Development Administration Authority (UDAA) within each municipality carries out solid waste management work (collection, transportation, intermediate treatment, and final disposal). This survey was conducted with the aim of examining the future direction of cooperation with MONRE by confirming the current status of waste management in Laos. 2. Survey area and survey schedule Study areas are Vientiane Capital, Van Vieng, Xiengkhouang, Luang Prabang, Xayaboury and Savan-Seno Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The survey commenced in February 2020. It was interrupted by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Then, it resumed in July 2020, and was carried out remotely until December 2020. 3. Overview of the country Laos has a total population of about 7 million (2018)1, and although the economy is small, it has been growing at a high growth rate in recent years as in neighbouring countries, and its per capita GDP has reached about $2,600 (2018)2. The urban population rate is also increasing, reaching 35%. Since 2000, infrastructure development such as the East-West and North-South economic corridors connecting to neighbouring countries and bridges crossing the Mekong River to Thailand has progressed, and economic development has been accelerating. SEZs have been developed along with economic trends such as China-plus-one or Thailand-plus-one. These have also seen the participation of Japanese companies. The industrial structure of the Lao economy is agriculture 15%, industry 31%, service industry 42%, import tax, etc. 11 % (2019)3. 4. Legal system for waste management In Laos, there is no basic law on waste management that corresponds to the Japanese Waste Disposal Law (Wastes Disposal and Public Cleansing Act), but the Environmental Protection 1 World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=LA&name_desc=false (last viewed: December 14, 2020) 2 World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=LA (last viewed: December 14, 2020) 3 Lao Statistics Bureau (2020). Statistical Yearbook 2019 - S-1- Law stipulates basic matters, and the types of waste are classified into only two types, general waste and hazardous waste. Laos is a party to various international environmental treaties such as the Basel Convention, and MONRE is the main government agency. The main department in charge within MONRE is the Department of Pollution Control and Monitoring (DPCM). While it is commendable that MONRE is developing laws and guidelines, it is hard to say that they are actually in operation due to limitation of number of staff, budget, capacity, etc. For example, there is no coordination with customs officers nor domestic legislation to comply with the Basel Convention. 5. Current status of municipal waste management Vientiane is the capital of Laos and has a population of about 900,0004. Waste management is handled by the Vientiane City Office for Management and Service (VCOMS). The Vientiane Capital has built the current waste management system based on JICA's cooperation such as development research and grant aid in the 1990s, and technical cooperation projects and another grant aid in the 2010s. Waste collection is outsourced to 10 private collectors in addition to 2 VCOMS direct operators. Valuables are collected mainly by recycling companies (collection, purchase, sale). As for the method of collecting valuable resources by recycling companies, in addition to direct collection from markets and restaurants, there is a private recycling centre on the premises of KM32 which purchases valuables from waste-pickers. The collected municipal waste (about 400 tons a day, 2019) and medical waste (incineration-about 370 kg a day, landfill in a dedicated pit-about 630 kg a day, 2019) will be finally disposed of at the KM32 disposal site. The site is 100 ha, but there is an intermediate treatment facility construction and operation project with private capital (Thai and Laos joint capital), and a 45- year lease contract has been signed for 50 ha. At the disposal site, a small incinerator for medical waste was installed as a pilot project for improving medical waste management of LPPE. And a new JICA project to strengthen the system has installed a larger incinerator with excellent environmental performance. Vang Vieng is a tourist destination located about 100 km north of the Vientiane Capital. The population is about 60,0005, but about 600,000 tourists, ten times that number, visit (of these, more than 400,000 are foreigners)6. The executing agency for waste management is UDAA. UDAA was originally established at the prefectural capital, but since Vang Vieng is a tourist destination, it has been established in Vang Vieng. Waste collection is carried out by UDAA and private companies. For recycling, a licensed company collects, purchases, and sells valuable resources. A final disposal site has been constructed with the cooperation of Asian Development Bank (ADB). As it does not currently have landfill equipment, spreading and compacting waste is not conducted properly. Xiengkhouang is located in the northern part of Laos, and the western part borders Vietnam. The prefectural capital is located in Pek District. With a population of about 76,000 (2015)7, Pek District was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2019 as the "Plain of Jars Sites". Then, it has become a major tourist destination in the country. The executing agency for waste management is UDAA, and the collection and transportation are carried out by private collection companies (2 companies). At the time of the survey, a new disposal site was constructed, but it was not in service, and an adjacent temporary disposal site was used. 4 National Statistics database, https://laosis.lsb.gov.la/tblInfo/TblInfoList.do;jsessionid=taPrP5JOCp5nKNn3J_y5FWWDdx0_OwTZ8ZeuyALP. laosis-web (last viewed: March 25, 2020) 5 Lao Statistics Bureau (2016), The 4th Population and Housing Census 2015 6 Tourism Administration Agency, Vang Vieng Office, 2019 7 Lao Statistics Bureau (2016), The 4th Population and Housing Census 2015 - S-2- Luang Prabang District is located in the central part of Laos, with a population of about 90,000 (2015)8, and the temples located in the centre are registered as World Cultural Heritage sites. The city is one of the major tourist destinations in the country. In 2018, about 760,000 tourists visited, of which about 580,000 were foreigners. The executing agency for waste management is Urban Service Office (USO, formerly UDAA). The collection is carried out by USO and private companies, and it is reported that the final disposal amount is 90 to 100 tons a day. Xayaboury is located in the north-western part of Laos and is the prefectural capital of Xayaboury Province, which borders Thailand on the west side, and has a population of about 76,000 (2015)9. Waste management is carried out by UDAA. Waste collection is carried out by UDAA and private sector operators. The final disposal site is an open dump, and the disposal amount is about 40 tons a day. 6. JICA Cooperation in the field of waste management JICA has given various cooperation in the field of waste management, mainly to Vientiane, conducting the "Study on the Solid Waste Management System Improvement in Vientiane (1991-1992)" in the early 1990s, the grant aid project " the Project for Improvement of the Solid Waste Management System in the Vientiane Urban Area in Lao PDR (1996)", LPPE (2011-2015) which was the environment component of the "Laos Pilot Program for Narrowing the Development Gap towards ASEAN Integration (LPP)” and another grant aid "The Project for Improvement of Solid Waste Management in Environmentally Sustainable Cities (2014- 2016)" in parallel with LPPE. Even recently, "Citizen's collaborative waste effective utilization system construction cooperation project in Vientiane City (2015-2018)" targeting Vientiane City was conducted, and the “Feasibility Survey for Improvement of Medical and Other Hazardous Waste Management in Vientiane City (2018-2020)” is being implemented. These series of cooperation have been developed in a relationship.