2026 IJRSE – Volume 15 Issue 6
Available Online: 9 March 2026
Author/s:
Vy, Vo Ngoc Bich
Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance, Vietnam (vyvnb@uef.edu.vn)
Abstract:
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest metropolitan area, faces increasing pressure from rapid growth in municipal solid waste generation alongside ongoing urban expansion. Although the city has achieved high collection coverage and introduced major policy reforms, including mandatory source separation and investments in waste-to-energy technologies, landfill disposal remains the dominant treatment pathway. This paper examines why visible progress in collection services and regulatory reform has not yet resulted in a fully integrated and sustainable waste management system. Using the Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) framework, the study analyzes Ho Chi Minh City as an interconnected system structured around three dimensions: the physical waste system (What), the actors involved (Who), and the enabling environment (How). Based on secondary data and policy analysis, the findings show that improvements have largely taken place within individual system components rather than through coordinated transformation. Limited source separation constrains downstream treatment efficiency, coordination among state, private, and informal actors remain uneven, and technological upgrading has proceeded without full alignment with upstream material flows and financial conditions. The case demonstrates that the key challenge lies not only in infrastructure expansion or regulatory ambition, but in strengthening integration across system dimensions. A system-based approach is therefore essential for advancing sustainable municipal solid waste transitions in rapidly urbanizing cities.
Keywords: municipal solid waste management, integrated sustainable waste management, waste management transition, urban governance, Ho Chi Minh City
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2026.26811
Cite this article:
Vy, V. N. B. (2026). Waste at the crossroads: Progress and challenges in Ho Chi Minh City’s transition toward sustainable municipal waste management. International Journal of Research Studies in Education, 15(6), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrse.2026.26811