Dr. Bui Ta Long (Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology) and his colleagues have just launched the first software in Vietnam to apply electronic document tools (e-manifest), electronic cards (e-card) in hazardous waste (HW) management in Ho Chi Minh City. This software is called H-Waste, and includes both hardware and software.
New technology in hazardous waste management
In Vietnam, e-card technology has been applied in a number of fields such as: office access management, patient management, vehicle route management, electronic ticketing, vehicle identification through toll stations. .
According to Dr. Bui Ta Long, currently, hazardous waste management (oil, paint, ink, medical needles, etc.) in Ho Chi Minh City still follows the manual paper method. Hazardous waste collection forces often dump waste in a "guerrilla" style to deal with management agencies, causing serious environmental pollution.
"H-Waste applying e-card technology will solve that pressing problem," according to Dr. Long.
Chip cards for hazardous waste management (Photo: Phan Tu) H-Waste includes a Mifare CV6600 card reader, designed on an 8-bit microprocessor platform. Mifare contactless smart chip card has a capacity of 1Kbyte, data transfer speed of 160 kbit/s, can store data for 10 years and allows reading and writing up to 100,000 times.
The hazardous waste management process includes three steps. First, the e-card is used at the waste source (CNT) and processor (CXL), at which time information about hazardous waste has been recorded on the card and reported to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (Department of Natural Resources and Environment).
Then, CNTs (units generating hazardous waste) enter information for electronic documents, this information is recorded on an e-card and transmitted to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
At the hazardous waste treatment company, the procedure to receive information via e-card will take place and the procedure to confirm treatment completion will take place at H-Waste.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment assessed: "The H-Waste model applying e-card has applied RFID technology - wireless frequency identification technology, marking a step forward in development." New technology applied in current hazardous waste management".
Practical application
According to a survey by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, every day the city generates 1,900-2,000 tons of household solid waste, including about 500-700 tons of hazardous waste.
Currently, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment must register 12,000-14,000 CNT books for waste generating units in the city. In addition, the city also has about 9,000 small production establishments. Each month, each establishment must use a hazardous waste management document. Large factories must use one document per week. More than 200 medical facilities must organize hazardous waste collection every day.
Therefore, if entering documents manually, each year the Department of Natural Resources and Environment must enter over 2 million documents, equivalent to the working days of 40 people/year.
Conceptual model of H-Waste software (Photo provided by Dr. Long) Applying e-card technology, reports related to hazardous waste will be made automatically and accurately. The HW management team will not have to waste time on document entry, statistics, processing, printing...
Besides, if CNT generates new waste, the software system will automatically update and supplement CXL.
According to Mr. Phan Minh Tan - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology: "H-Waste software applying electronic card technology marks an important step in the process of implementing e-Government"
"After successfully applying H-Waste to hazardous waste, the research team will expand it to household waste management," software author, Dr. Bui Ta Long affirmed.
Phan Tu
