Vietnam faces menace of waste from cheap “green technology” devices
According to statistics, every year, Vietnam discharges more than 90,000 electronic waste, of which waste of mini rechargeable fans and power banks account for a relatively large amount.
A cheap mini rechargeable fan bought on an e-commerce platform, a portable charger included in a promotion or wireless earphones are examples of “green technological” devices that were once praised for their energy efficiency that are now becoming an environmental hazard.
According to statistics, every year, Việt Nam discharges more than 90,000 tonnes of electronic waste, of which waste of mini rechargeable fans and power banks account for a relatively large amount.
In hot summer days, portable mini fans appear everywhere from offices to schools, parks, and in streets. They are advertised as using clean energy and being environment friendly.
However, in fact, when these products complete their short lifespans, they are often discarded with household waste causing soil and water pollution and threatening people’s health.
Can “green technology” truly be “green” if they leave a mountain of toxic waste?
The answer is how we manage and recycle them.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), electronic waste including portable technological devices now is one of the fastest-growing sources of waste globally.
WHO forecast, by 2030, global electronic waste will be 74 million tonnes, doubling the number of 2014.
Technological devices such as mini rechargeable fans, LED lamps, wireless earphones and portable chargers usually use lithium-ion batteries, a type of battery that has high energy but is very difficult to decompose.
If the batteries are dumped with other waste and not properly treated, they will cause fires, explosions and chemical leaks such as cadmium, lithium and mercury that absorb into soil and water.
The main cause for increasing technological device waste is the habit of consumption and the products’ design.
Nguyễn Văn Hùng, an office worker in Hà Nội told kinhtedothi.vn: “I bought these devices because they are cheap and easy to find on e-commerce platforms.”
“I bought a portable rechargeable fan at a price of VNĐ80,000 (US$3.5) only. It was broken after a few months of use,” Hùng said.
“It is very costly to get it repaired. So I threw away and bought a new one,” he said.
Hùng’s consumption style is not unique.
Cheap “green” tech gadgets, especially from no-name brands, are often of low quality, break quickly, and are difficult to repair.
Furthermore, the integrated design of products like power banks, with lithium-ion batteries glued to plastic casings, makes recycling expensive and complicated.
Trần Văn Nam, owner of a recycling facility in Hà Nội, said that there are not many workshops that recycle these devices.
Therefore, when they break, they are thrown away, instead of being fixed, Nam said.
“Separating lithium-ion battery panels from small devices is very difficult and costly because it requires high technology,” he said.
“Therefore, many small-scale recycle workshops just disassemble them for copper and then dump or burn the broken devices,” he added.
According to environmental experts, one of the big barriers that make electronic waste recycling difficult is the lack of a specialised collection system.
Currently, in Việt Nam, there are about 15 facilities granted licences for electronic waste recycling with limited capacity of 0.5-3 tonnes per day.
The modest recycling capacity not only eliminates the opportunity to recycle precious materials such as copper, gold, or lithium-ion but also has serious environmental consequences.
Who takes responsibility ?
Environment experts pointed out that the problem is not only the habits of consumers but also overloaded waste treatment systems and a “responsibility gap” from manufacturers, importers and distributors.
One of the main reasons causing technological waste to become a threat to the environment is the rampant importation of cheap products via unofficial channels and by small-scale sellers who just care about turnover and not post-sale responsibilities.
They benefit from the linear economic model of production – consumption – disposal but push the entire burden of environmental treatment costs onto society, specifically on urban authorities and residents.
This is an inequality in cost allocation.
On principle, the fee of environment treatment should count in production costs. And those who cause environment pollution should pay the fee of environmental treatment.
If manufacturers or importers are not made to take responsibility for collecting and treating unused products, they will not have motivation to create friendly-environmental products.
The burden is being unreasonably borne by the State budget, that is, the people’s tax money.
To address the root of the problem, stronger regulations are needed to compel importers and distributors to comply with EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) rules, regardless of business size.
There is an urgent need to plan and expand collection points for hazardous electronic waste in residential areas, supermarkets, and shopping centres so that people have proper places to dispose of them.
As for businesses, this is the time to demonstrate social responsibility and shift towards a circular economic model.
Building take-back programmes such as “exchange old products for subsidised new ones” not only helps protect the environment but is also an effective way to build customer loyalty and a sustainable brand image.
According to lawyer Bùi Đình Ứng, the Law on Environmental Protection has clear provisions on extended producer responsibility (EPR), requiring businesses that manufacture and import potentially polluting products including batteries, accumulators, and electronic devices to be responsible for collecting, recycling, or making financial contributions to support these activities.
“However, in reality, enforcing this regulation on low-cost technology products, often without clear brands, faces numerous difficulties,” the lawyer said.
Viet Nam News – July 16, 2025