Ensuring the environment in coffee processing

People of Ten Hia village, Muong Chanh commune harvest coffee.

The province currently has 24,300 hectares of coffee, with an output of about 37,700 tons of beans in the 2025-2026 crop year. There are 5 industrial-scale processing facilities still in operation and 15 facilities that process fresh coffee berries into coffee beans to serve processing and export needs. The processing facilities meet about 50% of the output of fresh coffee berries.

Every year, enterprises and cooperatives participate in deep processing of 4,440 tons of coffee beans, of which, the Production Factory of Minh Tien Group Joint Stock Company - MTG, Son La Branch 40 tons/year; Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company 20 tons/year; Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company over 3,490 tons/year; Detech Joint Stock Company 200 tons/year; Bich Thao Son La Coffee Cooperative processes 683 tons/year; Ara-Tay Coffee Cooperative 5 tons/year.

Along with investing in and upgrading coffee processing and preparation lines, facilities are interested in investing in wastewater and waste treatment systems to ensure environmental standards and effectively use by-products to produce organic fertilizers for crop development.

A corner of the wastewater collection and treatment area of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company.

At Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company, the coffee deep processing and refining factory has a capacity of 20,000 tons of fresh fruit/year, and an output of about 4,400 tons of coffee beans/year. The company is licensed by the Provincial People's Committee on environment, exploitation and use of underground water according to regulations. The wastewater treatment system with a capacity of 200 ^m3 /day and night (transfer tank, preliminary settling tank, equalization tank, coagulation tank, flocculation tank, settling tank, intermediate tank...) is operating stably.

Mr. Vu Viet Thang, General Director of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company, said: This year's crop, the factory will start processing from the beginning of October 2025. Ensuring the environment in coffee processing is always a focus of the enterprise, implementing according to commitments, fully complying with requirements on environmental protection and water resources.

Wastewater collection and treatment area of Phuc Sinh Son La Joint Stock Company.

At Minh Tien Group Joint Stock Company, in the 2025-2026 crop year, the company has partnered with about 3,800 households and over 4,000 hectares of coffee certified by 4C, RA and CP. This year, the company plans to purchase and process 8,000-10,000 tons of fresh coffee beans at the Sang processing factory.

Mr. Nguyen Vinh Duc, Deputy Director of Son La Branch, Minh Tien Group Joint Stock Company, informed: The company conducts environmental monitoring in accordance with the approved surface water exploitation license, wastewater discharge license and environmental impact assessment report; maintains the operation of the environmental surveillance camera system to send data to the management agency, ensuring authenticity and transparency in environmental protection.

Wastewater collection and treatment system at the coffee processing factory of Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company.

Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company was established in May 2023. The factory has a designed capacity of 50,000 tons of fresh coffee beans/year, equivalent to 10,000 tons of coffee beans/year, with a total investment of 125 billion VND. The unit started processing at the end of September 2025 and is expected to finish in February 2026. Currently, the factory's environmental treatment system is invested synchronously and systematically, combining mechanical, biological, physical-chemical, advanced oxidation and adsorption methods. The treated wastewater meets QCVN 01-1:2018/BYT - National technical regulation on clean water for domestic use, and is 100% recycled and reused for the factory's fresh coffee processing line, ensuring no discharge into the surrounding environment.

The coffee processing factory of Son La Coffee Processing Joint Stock Company has built a closed economic chain in production and processing, including three units: Son La Coffee Processing Factory, Northwest Agricultural Science Institute and Song Lam Tay Bac Fertilizer Factory. According to this model, processed coffee husks are transferred to the organic fertilizer production workshop of Song Lam Tay Bac Fertilizer Factory, which is researched and perfected by the Northwest Agricultural Science Institute into specialized fertilizer lines for coffee plants, and then supplied back to coffee farmers.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, shared: Through surveying and evaluating the current status of environmental protection works, in general, the facilities maintain the operation of waste treatment systems in accordance with regulations, according to approved designs. This activity helps the Department promptly grasp the situation, accompany businesses to strictly implement regulations, contribute to protecting the production environment and maintain the "green brand" for Son La coffee.

Linking production with environmental protection, the Department of Agriculture and Environment requested the Provincial Police to strengthen prevention, detection, and strict handling of environmental violations in coffee processing, especially in Chieng Mai and Chieng Mung communes and Chieng Coi and Chieng Sinh wards. The People's Committees of communes and wards coordinate with the police to review and inspect all processing facilities; resolutely suspend facilities without legal documents or standard waste treatment facilities.

For facilities that meet operating conditions, the entire production process and the ability to collect, store, and treat waste must be regularly inspected and monitored. If the reservoir is no longer able to store, the processing of fresh coffee must be stopped immediately. Discharging untreated waste into the environment is strictly prohibited. The Chairman of the Commune People's Committee is responsible before the law and the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee if environmental and water pollution occurs due to coffee processing activities.

Son La Water Supply Joint Stock Company strengthens monitoring and evaluation of water quality for urban living in Chieng Sinh ward and neighboring communes; speeds up the progress of Chieng Dong Water Plant to ensure stable and safe water supply for people in affected areas.

Currently, the coffee harvest is in full swing. Processing plants need to fully comply with the contents of the environmental impact assessment report, the water resource exploitation and use license and the approved discharge license; maintain and operate the waste treatment system effectively, ensuring that the wastewater meets environmental standards. At the same time, increase the purchase and processing of fresh coffee at the right capacity to consume the output for the people, limiting the situation of small-scale processing causing local pollution.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/kinh-te-video/dam-bao-moi-truong-trong-che-bien-ca-phe-dWbnzpkvR.html