Every FDI factory generates hazardous waste — waste oil, chemical-contaminated packaging, fluorescent tubes, spent batteries, sludge. The legal duty starts not at treatment but at identification and registration: the company is a ‘waste source owner’ with a registration, tracking books and electronic manifests that inspectors will ask to see first.
Duties of a hazardous waste source owner
- Identification and classification — Environmental Protection Law 72/2020/QH14 (Articles 39 to 44) and Decree 08/2022/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 05/2025/ND-CP): the source owner must identify hazardous waste types and volumes by list and waste codes, and register hazardous waste management content in its environmental licence dossier.
- On-site storage is time-limited — hazardous waste may be stored in a compliant on-site storage area for no more than one year from generation (save prescribed extensions); the store must prevent leaks and fire and segregate by waste code.
- Electronic manifest per shipment — each transfer to a treatment provider must be documented by an electronic hazardous waste manifest through the environmental information system, tracked from generation point to final treatment — the core compliance evidence in any inspection.
- The treater must hold an environmental licence with a hazardous waste treatment component — contracting an unqualified treater does not discharge the source owner: the owner remains jointly responsible if waste is illegally dumped, under the source-owner responsibility principle of the Environmental Protection Law and sanctions in Decree 45/2022/ND-CP.
A safe hazardous waste treatment contract checklist
- Verify the treater’s environmental licence is valid and its treatment component and capacity match the factory’s waste codes before signing.
- The contract must cover: electronic manifest duties, scheduled collection avoiding the one-year storage limit, and incident reporting during transport.
- Archive manifests, handover minutes and periodic hazardous waste management reports filed with the authority — at least for the company’s environmental record retention period.
Hazardous waste management is the quietest compliance test of an FDI factory: nobody praises it when done right, but one undocumented shipment can bring fines, suspension and bad press. Correct source registration, in-limit storage and a treatment contract with a qualified provider are the three pillars that keep this file inspection-ready at all times.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as hazardous waste?
Under the list and waste codes in Decree 08/2022/ND-CP: waste oil, spent chemicals, contaminated packaging, batteries, fluorescent tubes, hazardous sludge and similar streams.
Where does the waste source owner register?
Registration is integrated into the facility’s environmental licence application with the competent environment authority, including its hazardous waste management content.
How long can waste be stored at the factory?
No more than one year from generation in a technically compliant storage area, under Environmental Protection Law 72/2020 and Decree 08/2022/ND-CP.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council
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