Strict control of waste sources at Nguyen Khe Industrial Cluster

The results of the unscheduled inspection and sampling of the commune People's Committee show that the parameters of exhaust gas and wastewater are within the permissible limits. However, in order for people to rest assured, local authorities need to continue to closely inspect and monitor waste sources; enterprises must ensure that the waste treatment system operates stably.

Tracing people's reflections

MiZa Joint Stock Company is located in Nguyen Khe Small and Medium Industrial Cluster, producing packaging paper from recycled paper materials since 2010, with a registered capacity of 32,500 tons/year. This is an industry that uses a lot of raw materials, water and energy, and generates waste sources that need to be strictly controlled.

Recently, local people have reflected on the smoke and smell arising from the factory. Mr. Nguyen Van T. in Can Khe village said that in some afternoons and evenings, the exhaust pipe area of the factory appeared a smoke column tens of meters high, gray and smelling quite strong. Meanwhile, Mr. Do Minh D. in Khe Nu village said that although the enterprise has announced that the monitoring results are within the regulations, people are still concerned that smoke and odors from production activities may affect their daily life.

Working with the Management Board of Nguyen Khe Small and Medium Industrial Cluster and MiZa Joint Stock Company, the reporter learned that the factory has been granted an Environmental License by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on December 27, 2024. According to Mr. Duong Ngoc The, Deputy General Director of MiZa Joint Stock Company, the monitoring results in January 2026 show that the emission and wastewater parameters meet the requirements in the license.

From 2025, the enterprise will not import scrap but use domestically purchased raw materials. For emissions, the factory has installed an automatic and continuous monitoring system and made periodic reports to the management agency. In addition, the enterprise has installed an automatic warning system, when an incident occurs that causes emissions to exceed the standard, the facility will suspend production to check the treatment system and only resume operation when it meets the requirements.

Notably, the results of unscheduled emission monitoring conducted by the People's Committee of Phuc Thinh commune on August 20 and completed on August 26 showed that the exhaust gas flow was 25,800m³/hour; total dust 26mg/Nm³; CO 32.07mg/Nm³; SO₂ 27.25mg/Nm³ and NOx 197.03mg/Nm³. These parameters are lower than the comparative limit and are consistent with the monitoring results in the second quarter of 2026 provided by the enterprise.

For wastewater, the results on September 7 showed that the BOD₅ index was at 28.7mg/l, COD 69.9mg/l, suspended solids 26.4mg/l, ammonium 1.1mg/l, all were many times lower than the comparison limit. Some indicators, such as: Phenol, cyanide, arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium... were not detected or below the limit.

The above results are an important basis for evaluating the compliance with environmental regulations of enterprises. However, it is necessary to recognize the true nature of monitoring: The results only reflect the environmental quality at the location and time of sampling. Therefore, a standard sample does not mean that all times the production operation of the enterprise does not generate smoke, odors or impact on the environment.

Not only "up to standard"

According to the Head of the Economic Department of Phuc Thinh Commune Hoang Anh Tuan, the locality always pays attention to the management and protection of the environment at production facilities, especially issues that have the potential to directly affect people's lives. Therefore, in addition to complying with regulations on environmental protection, the Commune People's Committee requires MiZa Joint Stock Company to maintain a stable treatment system, proactively control sources of waste; and at the same time coordinate with the government in receiving and handling people's feedback. Inspection and supervision should be carried out regularly to ensure production associated with environmental protection and community life.

In particular, with a production scale of 32,500 tons/year, the requirements for enterprises are not only to have an environmental license, have a treatment system or meet the standards at the time of sampling. It is more important to maintain stable environmental parameters throughout the operation process, especially at times when people often reflect on smoke and odors.

It is known that in June 2026, this enterprise has invested more than 20 billion VND to install an additional IC high-load anaerobic tank with a capacity of 2,000m³/day for the centralized wastewater treatment system, in order to improve treatment efficiency, towards recirculation and reuse of water in production. As a result, 30% of wastewater is reused, helping businesses save 200-300m³ of water/day. It is expected that in the fourth quarter of 2026, the Company will publicize wastewater and exhaust gas monitoring indicators on the electronic board located at the gate for people and local authorities to monitor and increase transparency.

Technology investment is necessary, but not enough. For manufacturing enterprises located near residential areas, solving people's concerns is also part of environmental responsibility. Publicizing the results of monitoring, strictly controlling the sources of smoke and odors and actively coordinating with the authorities when there is a reflection will help narrow the gap between measured numbers and the actual perception of the community.

On the part of the government, it is necessary to continue to supervise production activities in the industrial cluster; when there is a reflection from the people, it is necessary to check at the right time and the right source to have a basis for evaluation and handling. Monitoring should not only rely on periodic monitoring but should combine information from the community, automatic monitoring data and actual inspection.

At the same time, Phuc Thinh commune needs to have a solution to the situation of housing interspersed in the industrial cluster, gradually arranging and relocating households according to current planning and regulations. When the distance between production areas and residential areas is fundamentally treated, both businesses and people have more stable conditions. The ultimate goal of environmental management is not only a standard monitoring sheet, but also the stability of the living environment and people's trust.

Source: hanoimoi.vn