A new rubbish collection system being tested in HCM City’s rivers and canals.(Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is piloting a new rubbish collection system in its rivers and canals that it said is more efficient.
The municipal Department of Transport and Sai Gon Traffic Construction Joint Stock Company has trialed the system to collect solid waste on a section of the Vam Thuat-Ben Cat River in Go Vap district.
Lam Tan Kiet of the company said it costs 20 billion VND (nearly 863,000 USD) and used five pieces of equipment: a barge, a crane to gather the rubbish, two small litter-collecting machines, and a boat to dump the rubbish.
The litter-collecting machines were imported from the US at a cost of 3.5 billion VND (151,000 USD) each while the rest was developed by Vietnamese engineers.
The system can collect around 40 tonnes of rubbish in seven hours.
Ha Thanh Son, head of the department’s Inland Waterway Management Division, said rubbish is regularly collected from the city’s rivers and canals such as Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe, Doi, Te, Tau Hu, Lo Gom canals, but the results do not meet expectations.
The new system can take out large volumes of rubbish and many kinds, including solid waste, water hyacinth and wild grasses.
“Manual labour needs to be replaced with technology to improve collection efficiency,” Son said.
The system will first be used to clear up waterways used for transportation.
It is expected to be used widely in the city from next year after the pilot is completed./.
VNA
