Operation of construction waste crushing machine for re-producing construction materials of JST-JICA SATREPS Project in Dong Anh district, Hanoi, September 2020. Photo: JICA

In cooperation with the Institute of Policy and Strategy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) held on Dec. 15 a seminar on sustainable waste management to share experiences of Japan on circular economy policies focusing on waste recycling and management. The event was part of the Vietnam-Japan Environmental Week which is co-organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam and the Ministry of Environment of Japan between December 15-17.

More than 200 participants from state agencies, local governments and research institutes of Vietnam attended the seminar.

Delegates made presentations in the online event.

Mrs. Hata Yumiko, Head of Resource Recycling Economy Section-Industrial Technology and Environment Department, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry from Japan explained a historical development of circular economy policies in Japan from the “Circular Economy Vision” in 1999 to a new one developed in 2020 while Mr. Takashi Togi Senior　Environment　Expert from Office for Promotion of Sound Material-Cycle Society, Environmental Regeneration and Material Cycles Bureau, Ministry of Environment of Japan, presented an overview of the “Basic Act for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society” which was developed based on the spirit of “mottainai” - a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret over waste and recently often used to encourage people “reduce, reuse and recycle” what they consume.

Opening of Project Office of JST-JICA SATREPS Project on construction waste management and recycling in Vietnam, April 2018. Photo: JICA

Mr. Satoshi Arima from the Association for Electric Home Appliances of Japan shared very practical experiences of recycling electric home appliances in Japan while Professor Ken Kawamoto from Saitama University introduced construction waste recycling technologies developed by a JST – JICA SATREPS Project, implemented by Saitama University, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering and other research institutes, using Japanese experiences which enables recycling more than 97% of construction waste in 2018.

Introduction of the concept on Circular Economy in the revised Law on Environment Protection, which was adopted by the National Assembly last year, is one of the breakthroughs of the environmental policies of the Government of Vietnam. However, to realize this concept in reality and to transform the current linear economy into a circular one requires a robust legal framework that enables all actors of the economy to apply circular economy model in product designing, manufacturing, service provision, consumption and disposal of waste.

Field Survey of JST-JICA SATREPS Project members at Thanh Tri construction waste landfill in Hanoi, December 2018.Photo: JICA

“I hope that Japanese experiences on promoting circular economy, by strengthening the cooperation of the central government and local governments, enhancing an effective partnership with private sector and involving consumers, will be helpful for the Government of Vietnam in developing and implementing circular economy policies” said Mr. Murooka Naomichi, Senior Representative of JICA Vietnam Office.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, President of ISPONRE, highly appreciated support from JICA for development of detailed regulations on circular economy in the upcoming Decree. “Today seminar is very informative and useful. As a focal agency in charge of circular economy policy development at MONRE, we think that knowledge and experiences shared by Japanese speakers are extremely important for us to materialize our policies and strategies on circular economy in the near future”, he said.

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