Last weekend, under the assignment by Can Tho City People's Committee, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) collaborating with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) organized the launching ceremony for the pilot project of waste separation at source. This is an activity in the project ""Domestic solid waste management for efficient waste to energy" sponsored by JICA.

Specific activities of the project in Can Tho include: analyzing waste components (before pilot), surveying source separation, planning waste separation system, analyzing waste components (after pilot), evaluating pilot study, scaling up waste separation model, and final conference.

Within the project, JICA will also support Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to prepare White Book, which provides information and data on current situations and orienting policies of solid waste management in Vietnam. Besides, JICA will also study relevant issues to policies of waste to energy, necessary support for localities, as well as support from JICA.

JICA experts have visited Can Tho City several times in 2020 and the first three months of 2021 to survey potential places for the pilot project. As recommended by DONRE and People's Committee of Ninh Kieu District, JICA team has agreed to implement the pilot in some areas of Tan An, An Cu, and Cai Khe Wards from 12 April to 12 July 2021. Citizens in these areas will separate wastes into 4 groups: recyclable, hazardous, combustible, and incombustible. Accordingly, recyclable wastes are sold to recyclers or sent to waste collectors; hazardous wastes (mainly batteries and fluorescent lights) are brought to assigned places at each ward for collection; combustible wastes are put into pink bags while incombustible wastes are put into white bags offered by the project. In other cases, such as construction wastes, citizens will be guided by waste collectors.

As for cases citizens do not abide by the waste separation guidance, the collector will not collect waste on that day, and put a sticker to warn the citizens. In addition, the pilot project also has quick guidance, separation catalogue, and stickers for combustible and incombustible wastes to educate and attract the participation of children and even adults for waste separation.