VietNamNet Bridge - Residents in many provinces and cities complain of too much garbage and worsening pollution, while local authorities admit they cannot find good solutions to settle the problem.

Locals in Trung Son Ward in Sam Son Town in Thanh Hoa province have had to live near a dump with household garbage for 15 years.

Nguyen Huu Hao, a local man, said an open dumping ground was set up there in 2000. Tens of garbage trucks gather in the place every day, producing a bad odor, polluting the air and the water sources.

When asked why a dumping ground exists in residential quarters, Vo Van Quang, head of the Management Board of Construction Works in Sam Son Town, admitted that this was a big problem and that dumping grounds must be at least one kilometer from residential quarters. 

However, the local authorities said they cannot remove the dumping ground because “it has been there for a long time.”

Only three districts in Thanh Hoa province – Thach Thanh, Hoang Hoa and Quang Xuong - have small-scale incinerators. A waste treatment plant has been designed for Nhu Thanh district, but it exists only on paper. A real waste treatment plant was built in Sam Son Town, but it has been left unused.

Treating garbage has been a difficult task for the Tan Binh commune authorities in Thanh Binh district of Dong Thap province.

Chair of the commune Phan Thanh Tam admitted the problem has been a headache for the local authorities for many years.

The district people’s committee has proposed a 2-hectare waste treatment complex in the area between Tan Hue and Tan Binh communes. However, no investor has been found. 

To deal with the daily household garbage, about 0.5 tons a day, the commune’s authorities decided to collect garbage in a 200 square meter dumping area, though they know this is not a good solution.

The central province of Quang Ngai has one economic zone, Dung Quat oil refinery, two industrial parks, 22 craft villages and 3,000 enterprises which produce 5 million cubic meters of wastewater and tons of solid hazardous waste. 

On Ly Son Island, 15 tons of garbage are produced every day from 21,000 local residents and tens of thousands of travelers a year. 

Meanwhile, the solid waste treatment plant in the locality, which was put into operation one month ago, can treat only 1.5 tons of garbage a day.

A report showed that 12 million tons of household garbage is discharged every day in the country.

NLD