Stopping Garbage Collection by Electric Vehicles: A Step Backwards or Pressure to Switch?

In April, the Provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 1576 on stopping the use of three-wheeled vehicles running on electric motors to collect and transport waste at Lao Cai Urban Environment Joint Stock Company. This means that 60 three-wheeled electric vehicles of this unit will stop operating, and workers will return to using collection vehicles (three-wheeled carts) to collect waste.

The Provincial Urban Environment Joint Stock Company collects household waste in 4 localities: Lao Cai city, Sa Pa town, Bat Xat district and Bac Ha district. On average, the amount of waste to be collected is about 160 tons/day, of which the most is in Lao Cai city (more than 100 tons/day).

Since 2017, the company has been piloting three-wheeled electric vehicles to collect garbage on some streets. The three-wheeled electric vehicles with a rear container for collecting garbage have contributed to ensuring health and liberating labor for workers. In fact, the application of mechanization in garbage collection by electric vehicles has increased labor productivity, quickly solving garbage collection points on the streets.

Given that effectiveness, the company has applied a pilot model using more than 60 electric-powered three-wheeled vehicles to collect and transport waste. In addition to traditional handcarts, electric vehicles are used to collect and transport waste in some communes and wards with wide collection areas and limited garbage station locations.

Although it has many advantages and is more productive than handcarts, this model cannot be officially applied due to lack of legal conditions. Therefore, after many years of implementation, garbage collection by 3-wheel electric vehicles is still only a pilot model.

According to the provisions of the 2008 Road Traffic Law and current legal documents, there are no regulations on the use of 3-wheeled electric vehicles or 3-wheeled motorbikes for garbage collection.

Ms. Truong Thi Lan Anh is responsible for collecting garbage in Bac Cuong ward (Lao Cai city). Normally, if she uses an electric car, she can finish her work before 6 pm, but now when she returns to using a cart, her work is not only more difficult, but the completion time is also 2 hours later than before.

Similarly, Ms. Ma Thi Lien, who is in charge of collecting garbage in Bac Cuong ward, has also switched from an electric vehicle to a handcart for nearly a month now. Ms. Lien compared: Collecting garbage by electric vehicle is faster and collects more. Each trip, 1 electric vehicle collects more than 2 handcarts in only half the time. Using a handcart takes a lot of effort and time, and when pushing the cart, you inhale the smell of garbage, which is not good for your health, especially on steep roads, switching from an electric vehicle to a handcart is very difficult.

When the news of stopping the operation of 3-wheeled electric garbage collection vehicles was published in the mass media, Lao Cai Newspaper recorded many responses. Some opinions said that in the context of industrialization and modernization, mechanization is applied in many industries to free up human labor as well as increase work efficiency, so stopping the use of electric vehicles and switching to human-powered carts is a "step backward".

There are also many opinions in agreement with the spirit of the rule of law, with the view that any vehicle participating in traffic must comply with current regulations.

So, if stopping the use of electric 3-wheelers to collect garbage is a mandatory regulation, what should businesses do to "mechanize" the garbage collection? This reality has created pressure forcing businesses to make changes to suit the general development trend as well as the provisions of the law.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Toan, Director of Lao Cai Urban Environment Joint Stock Company, like many localities in the country, the enterprise has repeatedly proposed to relevant agencies to study and supplement regulations for 3-wheeled electric vehicles used to transport waste. However, up to now, the legality for this type of vehicle has not been completed. The enterprise still hopes that the competent authorities will soon consider and allow the implementation of this model.

In the immediate future, the company has ordered an additional 200 three-wheeled garbage trucks (carts) to replace the electric vehicles that have been forced to stop operating.

Like many localities across the country, businesses have repeatedly petitioned relevant agencies to study and supplement regulations for three-wheeled electric vehicles used to transport waste. However, up to now, the legality of this type of vehicle has not been completed.

The company's shareholders' council has held many meetings to discuss new waste collection plans, the biggest goal is still to mechanize the collection method as well as recalculate the human resource plan to ensure collection progress in the context of stopping electric vehicles.

“We are developing a plan to invest in more garbage trucks, compactors, and small and medium-sized garbage trucks to improve the efficiency of clearing garbage after collection on streets and urban areas. The investment resources for the conversion will be huge, with the estimated cost of vehicles alone being around 20 billion VND to replace the previous electric cars,” Mr. Toan added.

In addition to investing in equipment to modernize waste collection, Lao Cai Urban Environment Joint Stock Company also proposed to allocate more land to create temporary waste collection points, to facilitate collection when the amount of waste that needs to be collected and treated is increasing.

Source