From cigarette butts to illegal trash dumping: How much are the environmental fines in Vietnam?

Specifically, individuals who discard cigarette butts improperly in apartment complexes, commercial or service areas, or public places may be fined VND100,000 to VND150,000 (US$3.80 to $5.70).

Those who urinate or defecate in areas not designated for personal sanitation in apartment complexes, commercial or service areas, or public places face fines of VND150,000 to VND250,000 ($5.50 to $9.50).

Fines of VND500,000 to VND1 million ($19 to $38) apply to acts of dumping garbage or discharging wastewater in unauthorized locations within apartment complexes, commercial, service, or public areas.

Throwing waste onto sidewalks, roads, or into urban drainage systems; improperly discharging wastewater onto sidewalks, streets; or dumping household plastic waste into lakes, canals, rivers, streams, or the sea, may incur fines ranging from VND1 million to VND2 million ($38 to 76).

In addition, households and individuals that fail to classify domestic solid waste or do not use regulated waste bags for domestic solid waste may be fined VND500,000 to VND1 million ($19 to $38).

Those who transport materials without proper covering, causing them to spill into the environment while participating in traffic, may be fined VND2 million to VND4 million ($76 to 152).

Meanwhile, investors developing urban areas or concentrated residential zones may face hefty fines of VND200 million to VND250 million ($7,600 to $9,501) for environmental violations such as failing to install separate rainwater and wastewater drainage systems; lacking public sanitation facilities that meet environmental protection requirements; failing to install an integrated wastewater collection and treatment system in line with the approved planning; failing to provide facilities for solid household waste sorting and storage at source; or not ensuring sufficient green spaces, water surfaces, and open areas as required by regulations.