In Cọ hamlet, Quài Nưa commune, household waste is no longer dumped along roadsides or streams. The once unsightly and unsanitary waste piles have been replaced with clean and well-maintained village roads. Residents now regularly sort their waste and dispose of it at designated collection points for sanitation workers to pick up.

Lường Thị Thận, a resident of Cọ hamlet, shared that in the past, resident used to burn trash in their gardens or dump it by the stream. But thanks to outreach efforts from commune and district officials in recent years, they have learned to sort inorganic, organic, recyclable, and non-recyclable waste and deposit it at designated collection points. This not only limits environmental pollution but also allows them to compost organic waste into fertilizer for their crops.

In Quài Nưa commune, local authorities have seriously promoted waste sorting and proper disposal. Residents are instructed to place non-recyclable and solid waste at communal collection points, while organic waste is composted in backyard pits dug at least 3 meters away from living areas. These pits are layered with a biological additive and covered with soil, rice husks, or ash (2–5cm thick), then sealed to prevent flies, mosquitoes, or rainwater from entering. Once full, the pit is covered, and another is dug. After 20-25 days, the decomposed waste can be used as fertilizer.

Currently, Tuần Giáo district collects and centrally treats waste at the Tuần Giáo Waste Treatment Plant for 8 out of its 18 communes and townships, handling over 20 tons of waste per day, 6.6 tons from Tuần Giáo town alone. In remote areas, waste is still disposed of by burial or open burning.

The Tuần Giáo Waste Treatment Plant, under the Điện Biên Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company, has been operational since April 2024 and can process over 60 tons of waste per day and night. It employs Rs-Vinabima 2000 incineration technology, the most advanced in the province.

The plant has fully replaced landfilling, reducing local environmental contamination. Its self-combustion incinerators require no external fuel and produce minimal emissions. Waste is preliminarily sorted on-site, then composted for about a week before being incinerated in an automated, closed-loop system that releases no wastewater, preventing water pollution.

Đoàn Quốc Trịnh, the plant’s manager, noted that since becoming operational, the plant has processed more than 2,000 tons of solid household waste in the district. The plant now also serves nearby districts such as Tủa Chùa and Mường Ảng, handling nearly 50 tons of waste per day across the three districts.

Capitalizing on the heat generated by the incinerators, the plant has installed two additional processing lines: one for drying wood used in exports and furniture production, and another for drying agricultural goods like cassava, coffee, and macadamia nuts. In its first year of operation (2024), the plant dried 24 tons of cassava, 50 tons of coffee, and hundreds of cubic meters of export-grade wood.

The facility has significantly improved the urban environment in Tuần Giáo, raising the rate of household waste collection and treatment in urban areas to over 96%. It also provides stable employment for nearly 30 environmental workers, 11 at the plant and 18 collectors, and supports dozens of seasonal workers in drying operations.