Digital technologies prove effective in waste management

HCM City (VNA) – As Ho Chi Minh City sees a huge volume of waste discharged daily, digital technologies are said to help solve the problem, and better connect households, authorities, and waste collectors.

Many localities in the southern economic hub have applied digital technologies to better waste mangement. Districts 3, 4, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, Binh Chanh, and Tan Dinh ward in District 1 have used the app GRAC for waste management. The app, developed by GRAC Technology Joint Stock Company, with its web-based version, provides management tools for waste collection units and authorities such as waste collection contracts, employees, payment history, notices, and feedback from households.

It also supports the management of garbage trucks to see if they travel the wrong routes or skip any stops.

With the mobile phone-based version, the app GRAC has the main functions such as household/garbage truck management, monthly waste collection fee tracking, online payment, and waste classification instruction. The app also connects households and waste collectors, and allows residents to track the location of garbage trucks, and collection schedules. People can send complaints and feedback related to domestic waste collection services directly to authorities and waste collection units.

Nguyen Trong Minh, Director of GRAC Technology Joint Stock Company, said that digital technology helps waste collectors save transportation costs and support people to classify and dispose of waste properly, without causing harms to the environment.

He said that the whole inner area of Ho Chi Minh City is expected to use the waste management app by the end of this year.

In 2024, the company expects the app will be widely installed by local households to combine with GRAC software designated for authorities to create an effective waste management system.
Meanwhile, the HCM City Urban Environment Company Limited (CITENCO) has used Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor its 265 garbage trucks.

Director General of the company Huynh Minh Nhut said that the company develops an internal mobile application to manage garbage trucks from/to transfer stations and check and confirm drivers’ information.

At each transfer station, CITENCO builds a management and monitoring system for garbage trucks including card readers, surveillance cameras, and submersible weighing systems. The company also builds a management database system for specific groups such as domestic waste, industrial waste, or medical waste.

Currently, about 9,700 tonnes of domestic waste are generated in the city daily, with annual growth rate of 6-10%.

Private waste collectors account for 60 percent of the total, including 162 companies, 17 cooperatives, two trade unions, and more than 2,120 garbage collection groups. Meanwhile, public units, comprising CITENCO and 22 district public service companies, are responsible for keeping streets and public places clean./.

VNA