The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)
Keywords: Municipal solid waste, circular economy,
Municipal Solid Waste Management
toward Circular Economy in Vang Vieng
District, Vientiane Province, Lao PDR
Daophet Phimdaphon1, Nguyen Thi An Hang1*,
Nguyen Thi Ha2
1
Vietnam Japan University, Vietnam National
University, Hanoi
2
University of Science, Vietnam National University,
Hanoi
*Corresponding author email: nta.hang@vju.ac.vn
Abstract – This study investigates the muniscipal
solid waste (MSW) management in Vang Vieng
district, Vientiane province, Lao PDR toward
circular economy. The research focus was placed on
(i) current status, (ii) opportunities and challenges,
and (iii) solutions to realize circular economy (CE) in
MSW management. Different methods were
employed, including literature review, semi-
interviews, sampling, SWOT, and TOWS matrix. It
was found that 43.33 tons/day of MSW is generated
in Vang Vieng. Of which, the MSW amounts derived
from the urban, rural, and public areas account for
50.11%, 35.52%, and 14.37%, respectively. The
MSW collection and recycling rates are 34.62% and
11.54%, correspondingly. The open dumping at a
landfill is the main pathway for the MSW disposal in
Vang Vieng. The limitations to be addressed include
(1) lack of proper awareness of solid waste
management, (2) insufficiency in collection service,
recycling facilties, and disposal technologies, and (3)
unpopularity of the CE in the district. Contrarily,
there are opportunities for applying CE in MSW
management, namely (1) Vang Vieng has a specific
governmental organization in charge of MSW
management to keep the city clean and tidy, (2) the
private sector plays an increasingly active role in
MSW management, and (3) local people start to use
cloth bags and glassware in an effort to minimize the
MSW quantity. Finally, key solutions are proposed
including (i) enhancement of the MSW seperation,
recycling, and transportation, (ii) promotion of the
community-based MSW management, (iii)
promulgation and enforcement of the MSW
recycling incentive policies.
material flow analysis, internal factors, external
factors
I. INTRODUCTION
Research context: Research context: Globally, due to
the rapid population growth, industrialization, and
urbanization in urban areas, the natural resources (e.g.,
land, water, energy, etc.) are increasingly exploited and
utilized to meet the growing production and
consumption demands. Consequently, a large amount of
municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated annually.
Therefore, the appropriate MSW management is
becoming essential to prevent the environmental
degradation and enhance the waste valorization [1].
According to [2] the human beings will use natural
resources 1.5 times more than their quantity that the
world can provide in 2030. It means that even if we had
two Earths, they would not provide sufficiently the
natural resources for human beings. In the past, the
focuses were placed on the industrial development and
economic growth, which reply on one-way
consumption, rather than the management and reuse of
the solid waste and sewage [3]. It is predicted that the
global municipal solid waste generation rate will
increase from 1.2 kg/day/capita in 2012 to 1.42
kg/day/capita in 2025. The annual MSW volume is
expected to double, being 2.2 billion tons in 2025 [4].
Clearly, the linear economy, which is based on the
principles of take, make, use and dispose, is causing
negative impacts on the global environment.
Problem statement: In recent years, the volume of
MSW in Lao PDR tends to increase due to the higher
MSW generation rate. The main components of the
MSW in Lao PDR are organic solid waste (30%), plastic
waste (30%), paper waste (15%), and the solid waste
that can sold (25%) [5]. While landfilling is the main
method for the disposal of MSW in urban areas, open
dumping is a prevailing method in the remaing areas. It
is worthy to note that most of landfills in Lao PDR
currently do not have the landfill leachate monitoring
and management systems [6] The poor management of
MSW in Lao PDR poses the high risks to the
environment.
Environmental concerns in the study area: Vang
Vieng is one of 11 districts of Vientiane Province, which
is approximately 150 km to the north of Lao PDR’s
Vientiane Capital. Vang Vieng has a total area of 212.5
km2 with the population of 59,661 people [7]. Tourism
is the most developed industry in Vang Vieng. It is
 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)
estimated that the number of tourists in Vang Vieng in
2019 was around 590,000 people, which was 10 times
its population, who relied on the tourism industry. Of
which, the number of foreigners was 410,000 people.
The average MSW generation rate in Vang Vieng
fluctuates in the range of 1.18-1.42 kg/person/day,
which is significantly higher that that of the Vientiance
capital (0.69 kg/person/day) [5]. The amount of MSW
in Vang Vieng is estimated to be around 55 tons/day. Of
which, at present, a limited quantity of 28 tons/day,
accounting for 50.91%, is finally disposed at a landfill
[8]. At the present, the MSW management service in
Vang Vieng is still very poor, thus cannot meet the
public demand. The waste separation into different
classified containers is not widely implemented. The
waste collection vehicles are insufficient to reach all
communities. There is no MSW composting or
recycling programs. The local people are lack of
awareness of the MSW proper disposal. This situation
results in environmental issues at the landfill, such as
bad scents, flies, etc. In addition, many local people
work as the solid waste pickers in poor sanitation
conditions. These issues pose a major hazard to the
public health and badly affect the aesthetic value of the
city. Therefore, the management of MSW in Vang
Vieng, which is mainly derived from tourism industry,
is becoming a great concern.
Circular economy in the world and Lao PDR: The
concept of circular economy (CE) is becoming popular
in the world. It is defined as a comprehensive waste
management system, which is based on the principle of
reduce, reuse, and recycle (3Rs) to generate the value
added and environmentally friendly products from
waste by using technology and design [9]. CE is
frequently touted as a solution to the worldwide waste
dilemma [10]. It focuses on the management of waste
resulted from production and consumption by bringing
raw materials into the production, reusing, recycling,
and maintaining a balance among economic growth, the
use of resources, and the environmental protection [11].
In the developed countries, CE is accepted and driven
by both governments and businesses. In such
enterprises, CE is adopted by turning their business
cycles into the self-sufficient models as much as
possible. CE is expected to replace the traditional linear
economy, which is based on the taking, make, use and
dispose, and thus developing the economy toward the
sustainability.
In Lao PDR, the concept of CE is not widely popular,
especially for local governments. Until now, CE has
notreceived sufficient attention and support for its
development. Specifically, policies and regulations on
CE have not been formulated, local
administrationorganizations are lack of knowledge of
CE. This situation affects the applying CE into MSW
management in Vang Vieng.
Research objectives: This study aims at (i) evaluating
the current status of MSW management in Vang Vieng,
(ii) identifying opportunities and barriers for the MSW
management toward CE in Vang Vieng, and (iii)
proposing solutions for the local administrative
organizations to succesfully apply CE in MSW
management.
Research significance: This study is expected to
provide insights of the MSW management in Vang
Vieng, solutions to apply CE into MSW management in
Vang Vieng, and thus contributing to sustainable
development of Vang Vieng district.
II. Materials and methods
A. Data collection methods
Primary data: In this study, the following methods
were utilized, including (i) semi-structured interview,
(ii) random and purposive sampling to collect primary
data and information. It targetted at groups that are
related to the MSW management in Vang Vieng district,
in terms of both policy and operation. There were three
groups as information providers, such as (1)
Government sector: a) Urban Development and
Administration Authority (head of the office and 1
technical staff that in charge on MSW management), b)
Public Works and Transport Office (head of the office
and 1 technical staff that in charge on MSW
management), Natural Resource and Environment
Office (head of the office and 1 technical staff that in
charge on MSW management), Department of Health
Office (head of the office and 1 technical staff that in
charge on MSW management), (2) Private sector:
representatives of private companies, hotels, restaurants
etc. (10 people), (3) Community: Representatives’ chief
of village that were contracted in waste collection
service (20 people). Data collection was conducted via
face-to-face in-depth interviews and questionnaires.
Secondary data: The secondary data were collected by
referring articles on the internet, reports from
government/NGOs/ international organizations, and
private companies
Sampling: The solid waste sampling surveys were
performed in different areas in Vang Vieng district, such
as the urban area (15 samples), the rural area (15
samples), and the public area (10 samples). The waste
samples were seperated into different components and
 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)

weighted to identify the waste composition. The weight

of collected MSW from the public area and households
was 10 and 5 kg, respectively.
B. Data analysis methods:
The data analysis in the present study was based on a
semi-quantitative method by analyzing the results of
interviews, sampling and surveys as shown in Figure 1.
Material flow analysis (MFA): The analysis was done
with MSW samples from different categories of
households using MFA method to evaluate the MSW
flow in Vang Vieng. This includes the MSW generation,
composition, collection rate, recycling capacity,
disposal method. The mass balance equation used in this
investigation is as follows [12]:
Mass stock = Mass input -Mass output (1)
(Assumption: no reaction occurred)
FIGURE 1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Strength, weakness, opportunities, threats (SWOT):
This method was applied to analyze the opportunities III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
and barriers of MSW management by investigating
A. Current status of municipal solid waste
factors that may afffect the MSW management, management in Vang Vieng
including internal and external factors [13].
MSW quantity: The MSW is generated from daily
Internal factors: The internal factors, which are used to
activities of households, shops, office buildings,
study the strengths and weaknesses, include the MSW
governmental offices, and educational institutions. The
management of local administrative organizations,
amount of the MSW in Vang Vieng is 43.33 tons/day,
policies/activities/projects related to the MSW including 21,717 tons/day (50.11%) in the urban areas,
management by communities, the readiness and 15,393 tons/day (35.52%) in the rural areas, and 6,225
potential of local government organizations. tons/day (14.37%) in the public places. Of which, the
External factors: The external factors, which are used to amount of collected MSW is 15 tons/day, representing
study opportunities and threats, are policies, laws and 34.62%. The recycling rate is low with only 5 tons/day,
regulations on the MSW management of agencies accounting for 11.54%. The amount of MSW disposed
outside Vang Vieng, and public participation. at a landfill is around 11.5 tons/day, being 26.54%. The
Threats, opportunities, weakness, strenghts (TOWS) remaining MSW amount is disposed by other methods
This matrix was used to propose some solutions for (e.g., burning, open dumping). The MSW flow in Vang
applying the CE concept in local governmental Vieng is illustrated in the below Figure 2 (Sources: the
organizations. It was conducted by using relevant data were obtained by author’s sampling and
theoretical concepts to discuss and present the study's interviews).
findings in a systematic and clear manner

FIGURE 2. WASTE FLOW IN VANG VIENG

 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)

MSW composition: The composition of municipal
solid waste in Vang Vieng district mainly is organic
waste covering 56 %, plastic 19 %, paper 11% and
others (14%) as shown in Figure 3.
ump trucks and 1 normal truck. These vehicles are used
to collect the MSW in the urban areas everyday and in
the rural areas once per week. While the MSW
collection in the urban areas of Vang Vieng is
implemented at the night time, this activity in the rural
areas of the district is done at the day time
MSW recycling: MSW recycling: There were 2
recycling centres in Vang Vieng, which collect the
MSW directly from markets and restaurants or purchase
the MSW that can be recycled from the local waste
pickers at either recycling centres or final disposal sites.

FIGURE 4. ORGANIZATION CHART OF WASTE

FIGURE 3. MSW COMPOSITION IN VANG VIENG MANAGEMENT IN VANG VIENG
The collected recyclabe materials are then transported to
The waste composition from urban area, public area, Vientiane capital and sold to the recycling centres there.
and rural area is given in Table 1 as follows: Besides, there are buyers who purchase the aluminium
cans. The MSW, which is collected from the community
TABLE 1. COMPOSITION OF MSW FROM by the collection company, is sorted at a landfill, where
DIFFERENT AREAS IN VANG VIENG there are around 30 people working on the MSW
Type Urban Rural Public seperation. The MSW that can not be reused (e.g., foam,
area area area others) is dumped at the landfill.
Organic 56.38% 58.71% 51.2%
Plastic 18.25% 15.14% 24.61% B. Opportunities and barriers toward circular
Paper 10.44% 7.61% 15.13% economy in Vang Vieng
Other 14.93% 18.54% 9.06% In this study, the SWOT analysis is done with both
internal and external factors, which may influence the
MSW disposal: The government and private MSW management in Vang Vieng.
companies associated with MSW management in Vang Internal factors: The internal factors are used to assess
Vieng are displayed in Figure 4. It can be seen that the the strengths and weaknesses in the MSW management
MSW management in Vang Vieng is related to 3 district in Vang Vieng. They include such important factors as
governors, including the Natural Resources and human resources, policies/plans/projects, capital/fund,
Environment Office, Urban Development and equipment/materials. The strengths and weaknesses of
Administration Authority Office, and Public Works and all internal factors are analyzed in detail as presented in
Transport Office. While the first office is responsible for Table 2
conducting activities to raise the public awareness, the - The municipality's management human resources
third office is in charge of providing technical have a broad vision, systematic thinking, empirical
assistance. The collection, transportation, and disposal performance, and are willing to work the best in their
of the MSW in Vang Vieng are implemented by the conditions. The governor works closely with the
private companies under the supervision of the second related authority on MSW management. However,
office. there are insufficient human resources with abundant
MSW collection: The company, which is responsible for knowledge and experience in MSW management.
the MSW collection in Vang Vieng, has 2 compactor - The Vang Vieng district's policy-making procedure
 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)

corresponds to the notions of local participation and and environment

good governance. The MSW management strategies master plan.
are included in the Vang Vieng Master Plan, which Capital/fund
encourages public participation by raising awareness - The government and - The current waste
of waste segregation among the local youth and the private sector collection fee does not
population. Nevertheless, the guidelines on the share both reflect the actual cost
MSW management are still lacking. responsibility and for the entire solid
- The segregation trash cans are not provided in certain revenue from waste management
locations. Vehicles for collecting waste in the small garbage collection system, thus being
roads are still inadequate. Therefore, the MSW service. insufficient for
collection is currently limited to the main roads. - Payments by parties maintaining its
involved in MSW operation.
- The current waste collection fee does not reflect the
disposal at the - The annual budget
actual cost for the entire MSW management system.
landfill help to may be in adequate to
Vang Vieng needs additional budget for MSW
reduce the cover all expenditures
management. municipality’s for raising people’s
expenses for MSW awareness and
TABLE 2. INTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE management. changing people’s
APPLICATION OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN VANG VIENG
- The municipality sets behaviors.
Strengths Weaknesses aside a budget for
Human resources solid waste disposal,
- Vang Vieng has the - Human resources who enabling the
local authorities in have knowledge and implementation of
charge of handling experience in the work contracts and
the MSW. MSW management is equipment
- The involvement of insufficient. purchasing.
the private sector in - The MSW segregation Equipment materials
the MSW is still lacking. - The municipality has - Trash cans are
management e.g., - Some people are provided vehicles for insufficient to handle
waste collection, unconcerned about MSW management the daily waste
leaning, grass their responsibilities in Vang Vieng, such stream. Outside the
moving, equipment and do not function as 3 solid waste ferret bins, there is a
providing) helps properly. collection vehicles, problem with rubbish
local staffs relieve including 1 small- overflow
heavy workload wheeled garbage - Separation trash cans
Policies/Plans/Projects truck and 2 are placed in a certain
- The principles of - Policies from the compactor dump location so they
good governance and executive level or the trucks. cannot be found in the
local engagement are district mayor remaining areas.
taken into currently lack the Hence, people are not
consideration when supervision of the encouraged to sort
the government of community. their trash.
Vang Vieng - Guidelines on the
formulates its MSW management External factors: the external factors are analyzed to
policies. are still lacking. assess opportunities (positive effects) and threats
- Strategies, plans, and (negative effects) for the MSW management in Vang
programs related to Vieng. They included such factors as area conditions,
the MSW social and community engagement, cooperation with
management are external agencies, government policies, technology and
defined in
mass media.The external factors that influence the
accordance with the
application of CE in Vang Vieng are presented in Table
Vang Vieng town
3 as follows.
- Vang Vieng is a medium-sized municipality with an
 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)

area of 212.5 km2, which is located in the central of Vang Vieng that the number, forming
Vientiane province. Tourism is the most important district can easily urban
industry in Vang Vieng. The district has a large open communicate, communities,
landfill, which is being upgraded to a sanitary coordinate with, and which refuse to
landfill. seek for their help in collaborate with the
- Rural communities in Vang Vieng are dependent, MSW management. municipality in
easy to communicate with, coordinate with, and ask - The community leaders MSW
for help. The community leaders in these areas are in Vang Vieng are management.
enthusiastic, environmentally conscious, willing to enthusiastic and have - Some people
attend meetings to express their views on MSW awareness of the believe that the
environment. municipality has
management. Additionally, residents in these areas
- As a result of already taken care
are aware of the environmental protection.
environmental education of the solid garbage
- Many external environmental organizations have given by the town at the disposal sites.
come to support Vang Vieng in terms of funds, authority, the local Thus, it is not
materials, and equipment to intensify the MSW residents have essential to
management (e.g., the Swisscontact’s project). This consciousness of the separate the waste
is the result of the empirical performance in the environment at source.
environment and MSW management, which Consequently, the
encourages the involvment of both public and private municipality bears
sectors in the MSW mangement in Vang Vieng. a burden of the
- The information technology and mass rubbish separation.
communication have facilitated the opportunity to
access information, and distribute knowledge about Cooperation with external agencies
MSW management, make more peoople know about - Some external
Vang Vieng, thus attracting more external organization are
collaboration and investment. pioneers in supporting
- Technologies for MSW treatment (e.g., biogas the municipality to
fermentation) improve the effectiveness of the MSW improve the
disposal in Vang Vieng. effectiveness of its
MSW management in
TABLE 3. EXTERNAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE forms of money,
APPLICATION OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN VANG VIENG equipment, etc. (E.g.,
ADB sponsored the
Opportunities Threats upgrading of open
Area conditions landfill to the sanitary
- Vang Vieng is located in - The alleys are landfill, and the project
the central of Vientiane quite small, on turning waste into
Province so the making the waste added value products.)
transportation of MSW collection in Government policies
is convenient. alleys difficult. - The State has an - Law enforcement
- Vang Vieng has a Thus, the waste environmental strategy is ineffective.
landfill with a total area collection service that promotes 3Rs in the There is a lack of
of 9 ha. Of which, 2 ha is restricted to MSW management. regulations on
are in use. The landfill is only areas near solid waste
being upgraded to a the main roads. management.
sanitary landfill, which
Technology and mass media
will be completed in
- Internet and social - Lack of cost-
2024.
media make it easy and effective and
Social and community engagement quick for sharing green technologies
- There are rural - In areas, ulterior information and for the MSW
communities living in people come to expertise on MSW management.
the periphery areas of work in a large management among
 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)

individuals, leaders of even worse in small alleys, where collection cars

the communities, and can hardly access.
organizations.
C. Applying the concept of circular economy in local
- Initiatives related to the
government organizations:
MSW management
(e.g., transformation of To analyze favorable conditions for applying the
trash using eco-friendly concept of the circular economy in the MSW in Vang
products) are Vieng and provide suggestions for addressing ostacles,
increasingly practical the TOWS matrix is used as shown in Figure 5.
and intriguing.

Opportunities for applying CE in MSW

management in Vang Vieng
- According to the action plan, the Urban
Development and Administration Authority
(UDAA) is in charge of MSW management to keep
the city clean and tidy. The public involvement in
the MSW management is encouraged. The
government agencies act proactively and
collaborate with all sectors by visiting the
community to guide residents how to manage
MSW properly, reduce the MSW quantity, and
segregate the MSW.
- The private sector plays an increasingly active role
in the MSW management. For example, some local
supermarkets use easily biodegradable materials
for food packaging, and sell the recycled waste to figure 5. TOWS Matrix
generate cash.
- The local people start using cloth bags and drinking Solutions for applying CE in MSW management in
glassware to minimize the generated MSW Vang Vieng
quantity. Numerous communities in Vang Vieng - Promoting the local communities to apply the 3Rs
are interested in MSW management, cleaning up principle (reduce, reuse, and recycle) more widely
the environment, turning waste into compost, etc. in the practice.
Challenges for applying CE in MSW management in - Encouraging local businesses to recycle waste as
raw materials to produce goods.
Vang Vieng
- There should be framework and procedure for
- Integration of the MSW management in all sectors’
classifying and gathering different kinds of waste
development plans is still lacking. The current from the community.
operation related to MSW management is still - Collaboration among the private sector, local
lacking the public participation. Some people still government entities, and external agencies in
believe that this is the responsibility of the sole addressing the MSW management.
municipality. - Local government should work with the national
- At present, a significant MSW volume needs to be government to modify existing laws and
disposed because it is rarely separated at sources. regulations to encourage the CE implementation in
The MSW segregation is not implemented by local MSW management.
communities. This is due to a lack of understanding - The conversion of MSW into energy and value-
about trash classification, waste reuse, and income added products should be further promoted.
generation from waste. IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Due to the lack of bins and collection trucks, as
well as the low awareness of villagers, a portion of A. Conclusions
the MSW in Vang Vieng is not placed properly and • The MSW management in Vang Vieng now still
collected, causing environmental pollution (e.g., has some limitations, such as the lack of proper
odor, leachate) and making the city messy. This is awareness of MSW management and insufficient
collection service, recycling, technologies. The CE
 The International Conference on Sustainability in Environment and Agriculture (ICSEA2022)

concept is not familiar to the government
authorities and local communities.
• In the future, it is viable to apply the CE concept of
in the MSW management in the form of various
activities. Besides, the MSW management, which
is based on the 3Rs principles and community
activities toward CE, should be encouraged in
Vang Vieng.
B. Recommendations
• The MSW separation in households, businesses,
and communities should be encouraged. The
separation trash cans should be located throughout
the district.
• The MSW transportation should be improved by
providing more the waste collection trucks and
labors.
• The promulgation and enforcement of incentive
policies to encourage the recycling of MSW into
value-added products should be done.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors acknowledge the Department of Natural
Resources and Environment (DONRE) of Vientiane
Province for providing the data and information.
[9] Sakolnakorn, T. P. N., & Leknoi, U. (2021).
Community waste management under the circular
economy concept of local administrative
organizations. Humanities and Social Sciences
Journal of Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University,
15(2), 362-373
[10] Katchwattana, P. (2018). Look at the trend of the
circular economy as the way to survive in the 21st
century.
https://www.salika.co/2018/11/24/circular-
economy-business-model-change-the-world/
[11] Zhu, Q., Geng, Y., & Lai, K.-h. (2010). Circular
economy practices among Chinese manufacturers
varying in environmental-oriented supply chain
cooperation and the performance implications.
Journal of Environmental Management, 91(6),
1324-1331.
[12] HSM. (2020). Material flow analysis and material
flow account database for waste from electrical
and electronic equipment (WEEE) and municipal
hazardous waste management in Thailand.
[13] Peeraya, W. (2013). Local authority’s solid waste
management: a case study of Muangklang
municipality, Rayong province. National institute
of development administration, Thailand.

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