The Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex in HCM City’s Binh Chanh district treats more than 5,000 tonnes of waste a day (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi MinhCity has advanced to this month an extraordinary meeting to discuss wastetreatment and environmental pollution after National Assembly deputies from thecity expressed concern over the issues, a leader said.
Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, Chairwoman of the municipal People’sCouncil, said the meeting on urban environment and waste management wasinitially planned to be held at the end of this year.
According to thePeople’s Council, the city generates 7,500 tonnes of waste a day, which aresent to Da Phuoc Waste Treatment complex in Binh Chanh District for treatment.
NA deputy LeNguyen Minh Quang said the city should have more than one waste treatmentfacility and not rely solely on Da Phuoc. He called on the People’s Committeeto reopen the Phuoc Hiep waste treatment plant in Cu Chi district, which hasbeen unused for many years.
But Nguyen ToanThang, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, saidonly one waste treatment plant at Phuoc Hiep was closed due to technicalreasons. Two other facilities run by the Vietstar and Tam Sinh Nghia companiesare treating around 500 tonnes daily, he said. The city also plans to build awaste treatment plant in Long An province this year, he added.
The city’s wasteincreases every year, with most of it now buried, affecting the environment,experts said. Besides the stench, water leaks from landfills have also raisedenvironmental concerns.
For instance, DaPhuoc has created a health hazard and detracted from the investment environmentof District 7.
Dr Le Van Khoa ofthe HCM City Polytechnic University said the problem is the city lackstechnologies to classify waste before treatment.
Since 2004 thecity has been running a pilot programme to classify solid wastes before treatmentin Districts 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, and Cu Chi and atwholesale markets. But this has not proven too effective since only 25 percentof solid wastes is classified.
The city alsolacks the funds required to create infrastructure for solid-wasteclassification systems.
Experts said thatin most developed countries, domestic and industrial wastes are carefullycategorised and treated or recycled depending on whether they are organic orinorganic.
Khoa said thecity should make environmental education mandatory to improve public awarenessof the need to protect the environment by treating waste properly.-VNA
Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, Chairwoman of the municipal People’sCouncil, said the meeting on urban environment and waste management wasinitially planned to be held at the end of this year.
According to thePeople’s Council, the city generates 7,500 tonnes of waste a day, which aresent to Da Phuoc Waste Treatment complex in Binh Chanh District for treatment.
NA deputy LeNguyen Minh Quang said the city should have more than one waste treatmentfacility and not rely solely on Da Phuoc. He called on the People’s Committeeto reopen the Phuoc Hiep waste treatment plant in Cu Chi district, which hasbeen unused for many years.
But Nguyen ToanThang, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, saidonly one waste treatment plant at Phuoc Hiep was closed due to technicalreasons. Two other facilities run by the Vietstar and Tam Sinh Nghia companiesare treating around 500 tonnes daily, he said. The city also plans to build awaste treatment plant in Long An province this year, he added.
The city’s wasteincreases every year, with most of it now buried, affecting the environment,experts said. Besides the stench, water leaks from landfills have also raisedenvironmental concerns.
For instance, DaPhuoc has created a health hazard and detracted from the investment environmentof District 7.
Dr Le Van Khoa ofthe HCM City Polytechnic University said the problem is the city lackstechnologies to classify waste before treatment.
Since 2004 thecity has been running a pilot programme to classify solid wastes before treatmentin Districts 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, and Cu Chi and atwholesale markets. But this has not proven too effective since only 25 percentof solid wastes is classified.
The city alsolacks the funds required to create infrastructure for solid-wasteclassification systems.
Experts said thatin most developed countries, domestic and industrial wastes are carefullycategorised and treated or recycled depending on whether they are organic orinorganic.
Khoa said thecity should make environmental education mandatory to improve public awarenessof the need to protect the environment by treating waste properly.-VNA
VNA
