In late 2025, the Điện Biên Rubber Latex Processing Factory under the Điện Biên Rubber Joint Stock Company went into operation with a capacity of approximately 5,000 tons of products per year. Identifying environmental protection as an overarching requirement throughout the production process, the enterprise invested around VND 9 billion in a wastewater treatment system with a capacity of 340 m³ per day and night, accounting for about 15% of the project’s total investment capital.

Wastewater from rubber latex processing contains a large organic content and fermenting natural proteins, which easily generate foul odors and pose risks of water and air pollution if not treated according to correct workflows. Driven by reality, the factory selected biological treatment technology instead of chemicals to limit impacts on the environment. All wastewater is collected and treated through multiple stages before being reused or discharged.

Following treatment, around 70% of the water volume is pumped back into reservoirs for production reuse, while the remainder is only discharged into the environment once it satisfies treatment and sterilization requirements. Reusing water after treatment helps the factory save thousands of cubic meters of clean water each month, lowering production costs and upgrading operational efficiency. This solution contributes to limiting the volume of wastewater discharged into the environment, reducing pressure on water resources, and aligning with the company’s orientation to build a green, safe, and sustainable production environment.

Đặng Quốc Luân, Manager of the Điện Biên Rubber Latex Processing Factory, stated that the company’s viewpoint is that production development must always go hand in hand with sustainable environmental protection, absolutely refusing to trade the environment for short-term economic benefits. He added that methodical investment helps the factory operate stably, allowing secure production without anxieties over environmental incidents.

While the Điện Biên Rubber Latex Processing Factory demonstrates proactive investment in environmental protection right from the project’s deployment, the Hồng Diệp Cassava Starch Factory in Núa Ngam commune stands as a testament to the process of recovery and restructuring following an environmental incident in 2018. Upon taking over the factory in 2024, the Hồng Diệp Điện Biên Cassava Starch Joint Stock Company prioritized investing in upgrading the wastewater treatment system and finalizing environmental protection conditions before step-by-step restoring and stabilizing production.

Lê Minh Tuấn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hồng Diệp Điện Biên Cassava Starch Joint Stock Company, stated that the company formulated a plan to adjust investment policies, which was approved by the provincial People’s Committee to expand the factory area from 1.9 ha to 4 ha. Within this expansion, the biogas wastewater treatment lake area alone accounts for around 2.1 ha. According to the plan, the enterprise will invest in constructing a biogas lake with a capacity of approximately 60,000 m³, expected to be completed by the end of this year. Once the wastewater treatment system is finalized and fully satisfies legal conditions, the factory expects to operate stably from November 2026, with a processing capacity of around 80 tons of cassava starch per day, consuming from 350 to 400 tons of fresh cassava daily.

Reality demonstrates that environmental protection is becoming a mandatory requirement for the production and business activities of enterprises. Proactively investing in waste treatment systems, applying resource-saving technologies, and reusing water help enterprises minimize their environmental impacts, upgrade production efficiency, and achieve long-term stable development. Against the backdrop of Điện Biên attracting an increasing number of agricultural and forestry product processing projects, properly fulfilling environmental responsibilities stands as an important condition to guarantee the sustainable development goals of both enterprises and the locality.