Vientiane City Office for Management and Service (VCOMS) says it faces several major challenges in waste management across Vientiane Capital.
Authorities are faced with challenges in waste management across all nine districts of Vientiane Capital, where much of the population continues to illegally burn or dump waste.
Deputy head of Vientiane City Office for Management and Service (VCOMS), Mr. Bounpakorp Phomhalad, says only 27 percent of households are able to access waste services in the capital.
Vientiane Capital has a population of over 900,000, including 481 villages and 173,840 households, with only 22,393 of these households able to access waste services, Lao Economic Daily reports.
Some 73 percent of households are unable to access or have not signed an agreement on waste management services. Instead, they simply engage in illegal burning of waste or dumping waste in forested areas or fields.
The Vientiane Capital Department of Natural Resources and Environment established a hotline, 1523, in September last year, allowing residents to report the illegal burning of garbage, rice fields, and scrubland around the city.
The current waste collection system does not allow for waste sorting prior to collection, contributing to problems at the landfill in Naphasouk Village, Xaythany District, just 32 kilometers from the city center.
Authorities have not yet issued any policies or facilities to promote the conversion of waste into valuable resources, making it difficult to promote the “3Rs,” Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, in urban areas.
Meanwhile, waste consumption in Vientiane Capital is expected to increase to 1.6 million tons by 2030.
