Successful pilot model of waterway municipal plastic waste management of MCD

Nam Dinh, March 24, 2021, the MCD joined with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE) of Nam Dinh province to organize a reviewing meeting of the Project “Pilot model in Nam Dinh improving waterway municipal plastic waste management practices for reducing marine plastic pollution, the Red river delta Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam”.

Over 100 attendants are the representatives from national-level agencies representatives: Vietnam Administration of Sea and Islands, Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and Branch of North Inland Waterway, donor USAID/MWRP, Vietnam Academy for Water Resources; related environmental organizations and delegates from Nam Dinh province: leaders and staff of DONRE, representatives of Department of Transport, Science and Technology, Education and Training; Nam Dinh Provincial Youth Union, Water resources management Sub-department, Waterway Traffic Police Division, Riverway Management Company No.5, Nam Dinh Inland Waterway Port, Nam Dinh Environmental Joint Stock Company; and units participating in and coordinating in implementing projects such as Nam Truc Green Environment Company; Leaders of the People’s Committee and officers of the Division of Natural Resources and Environment of Nam Dinh City, My Loc District, Giao Thuy District, Nam Truc District; Leaders of the People’s Committee, environmental cadastral officers and representatives of community organizations of Tran Te Xuong ward, Vi Xuyen ward, Vi Hoang ward, Nam Phong commune, My Tan commune, Giao Hai commune, and Giao Xuan commune; especially with the presence of beneficiaries and direct project participants, t core community groups operating the waste management tools in My Tan commune, Tran Te Xuong ward and Giao Hai commune; Xuan Thuy National Park Management Board; Leaders and the representatives of youth union members of Nam Dinh College of Economics and Technology. The meeting was reported by representatives of national and local press and television agencies

The meeting was aimed to summarize the project process, activities and results, and to disseminate the project lessons learned to stakeholders, thereby promoting maintenance and replication of the project successes at all levels.

The project was funded by USAID through the Development Innovations Group company under MWRP and implemented by MCD and its partners in Nam Dinh province from 2018 to 31/3/2020. This project aimed to pilot innovative, low-cost technology measures in combination with social solutions to enhance the waste management along rivers and at estuaries, thereby contributing to improved management of the solid waste and reduction of the plastic pollution in the riverine and marine environment of Nam Dinh province. The project also aimed to document and disseminate project results and experiences on efficiency and scalability of pilot model to government agencies, private sector, social organizations, communities and stakeholders.

The project has achieved unexpected results, fulfilled the targeted objectives with over 320 tons of plastic waste collected, sorted and treated through the project’s initiatives and solutions; over 18,500 people directly participated in project activities, nearly 3,400 people have been strengthened capacity through training, dialogue and technical support activities on solid waste and plastic waste management, in which, women account for 54%; about 11,500,000 people have accessed to the project information and implemented activities; 25 agencies, units, and organizations have coordinated in implementing activities to improve the efficiency of collection, separation and treatment of solid and plastic waste in the project areas.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Duong Thi Nga, Director General for International Cooperation Department of VUSTA, said that MCD is one of more than 550 science and technology organizations under VUSTA, is a pioneer NGO in the field of marine environmental protection in general and on marine plastic pollution reduction in particular; she highly appreciated the efforts that MCD has made  and also encouraged MCD to continue cooperating with donors, partners and provinces to spread the successes of this project and to develop and implement new meaningful initiatives in the future.

Ms. Duong Thi Nga - Director General for International Cooperation Department of VUSTA

Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu – Standing Deputy Director of MCD

Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu, Standing Deputy Director of MCD shared “MCD has a long journey of having supported Nam Dinh province over the last 15 years in environmental protection, ecosystem conservation, and improvement of coastal community life. With this project, MCD and local authorities have chosen a new and challenging aspect of waste management – piloting a model to enhance the collection, sorting, and treatment of solid waste floating in the waterways from river to sea. The project has applied an integrated approach, with combination of technology measures and social solutions, and public-private-community partnerships, in which MCD has played the roles of technical and governance assistance provider, connector and facilitator. MCD is very delighted that the pilot model has gained meaningful successes and proved to be replicable. MCD expressed the sincere appreciations for the enthusiastic support and effective cooperation of national and local agencies, local communities and donors during the project implementation.”

Mr. Hoang Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nam Dinh province

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Hoang Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Nam Dinh province said that the project has significantly contributed to raising the attention and awareness of Nam Dinh officials and local people about solid waste and plastic waste pollution. The project has successfully tested new initiatives contributing to the improvement of plastic waste management in the marine environment of Nam Dinh province. We appreciate the efforts of MCD throughout the success of a number of projects implemented in Nam Dinh province and looking forward to continuing to receive next projects in Nam Dinh from MCD and other partners.

TQ