This model needs to be replicated.

(Baonghean) - Currently, the entire province only has 3 cooperatives providing environmental sanitation services. Although facing many difficulties, these cooperatives are constantly striving to expand their scale of operation, making the local environment increasingly green, clean, and beautiful, and gaining the support of the people.

Rain or shine, a typical workday for Ms. Vo Thi Nham, as well as all members of the Waste Collection Team (Hung Nguyen Town Agricultural and Environmental Services Cooperative), begins at over 5 a.m. While the mist still blankets every street and corner, Ms. Nham diligently carries out her work. As living standards improve, the volume of waste collection increases, making the task even more arduous. However, all waste is collected cleanly by the cooperative's environmental sanitation staff, ensuring a clean and beautiful town environment.

Since transferring electricity services to the power sector, the cooperative's service activities have narrowed. Recognizing the pressing environmental and waste issues in the area, the cooperative requested permission from the Hung Nguyen Town People's Committee to provide waste collection and treatment services. In October 2009, the Hung Nguyen Town People's Committee transferred the waste collection and treatment services in Hung Nguyen Town to the Hung Nguyen Town Agricultural and Environmental Service Cooperative for management and operation. The cooperative was tasked with organizing and managing environmental and waste treatment throughout the town, including 17 residential blocks, agencies, schools located within the town, and public places.

Initially, the cooperative operated in a rudimentary manner, renting tractors to collect garbage from neighborhoods and public roads, and also hiring bulldozers to level the landfill and purchasing chemicals to treat the area. In 2010, the operation suffered losses, with revenue insufficient to cover expenses. Nevertheless, the Cooperative Management Board still recognized environmental sanitation as a service that created jobs and generated income for both workers and the cooperative. In 2011, the cooperative borrowed 100 million VND from the Nghe An Cooperative Union's Employment Support Fund to purchase a truck to collect garbage from neighborhoods and transport it to the collection site. Since acquiring the truck, the cooperative's operational capacity has increased, with a faster turnover rate, collecting 16-18 tons of garbage per day across four truckloads. During holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), the amount of waste can reach up to 30 tons per day, yet the town's environment remains clean.

The Agricultural and Environmental Services Cooperative of Hung Nguyen Town collects waste.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hue, Chairman of the Hung Nguyen Town Agricultural and Environmental Services Cooperative, shared: "We recognize this service as cleaning up the environment for society and protecting people's lives, and it has received the support of the people. With that in mind, even though revenue is not enough to cover expenses, the cooperative is determined to carry out its responsibilities. While in other communes of the district, you see scattered garbage along the roads, in Hung Nguyen Town, the roads are clean and beautiful, with no garbage on the main roads or in the general environment. However, the garbage trucks are currently dilapidated, frequently breaking down and requiring costly repairs. They need to be replaced to meet the demands of the job, but the cooperative faces difficulties in securing capital and urgently needs support from higher authorities to obtain preferential loans on credit, helping the cooperative to invest in better operations." In 2013, the total revenue from waste disposal services reached 185 million VND. This fund was used by the cooperative to pay salaries for 7 environmental workers and to invest in environmental treatment at the landfill site, building high embankments to prevent waste from being washed out during the rainy season. Waste sorting, landfilling, and recycling were also implemented. The effectiveness of environmental sanitation work undertaken by the cooperative has steadily improved.

While also providing environmental sanitation services, the Do Luong Environmental Services Cooperative has better operating conditions and was the first cooperative in the province to offer such services. The cooperative began operating in this field in 2006 with only 22 members. Currently, it has 29 members, including 18 sanitation workers and 6 staff specializing in dredging and clearing drainage systems. From 2006 to the end of 2013, the cooperative operated only in Do Luong town. In 2014, the district completed the construction of a centralized waste treatment facility in Hong Son commune, 15 km from the town center. The Do Luong Environmental Services Cooperative was selected by the district as the managing unit, responsible for collecting and treating waste for 10 communes adjacent to Do Luong town.

Based on the effective performance over the years, despite the work involving frequent contact with foul-smelling waste and its impact on health, the Cooperative's management board and all members have dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to their work, creating a clean and beautiful environment for the community, earning the people's recognition. Overcoming many difficulties and challenges in its early years of operation, the Cooperative has consistently performed well in environmental sanitation in the town, encompassing 10 residential blocks and 60 agencies and schools. Recently, the Cooperative successfully secured a donation of a specialized garbage compactor with a capacity of 7 m³, valued at 1.1 billion VND, from a successful local business owner in Ho Chi Minh City. Furthermore, with the support of the District People's Committee, the Cooperative will soon receive an additional garbage compactor with a capacity of approximately 14 m³ to enhance its capacity to effectively carry out its new tasks.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Chairman of the Do Luong Environmental Services Cooperative, said: "In the near future, when we have more capital, the cooperative will invest in a processing line for plastic bags (using raw materials extracted from plastic at the landfill) to sell cheaply to the people so that they can sort their waste from the beginning, helping the cooperative to conveniently process waste at the central landfill. It is expected that by 2016, the cooperative will establish an environmental company, increasing its operational capacity to a large scale, collecting and processing all the waste from the people."

Current environmental cooperative models demonstrate effectiveness in urban areas. The main activity is the centralized collection and processing of waste according to the guidelines of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. The Provincial People's Committee directs, encourages, and facilitates the establishment of this type of cooperative in all districts and towns that do not yet have urban environmental companies. District leaders are responsible for implementing regulations on environmental sanitation and fee collection, assisting cooperatives in collecting fees correctly; and allocating a portion of the annual municipal budget to support the cooperatives' operations. They also plan and manage designated waste collection and processing sites for the cooperatives. Policies are in place to support cooperatives in investing in equipment and technical infrastructure for their environmental activities.

Quynh Lan