Over 650 tonnes of rubbish are discharged every day in Vinh Phuc’s rural area (Photo: VNA) Vinh Phuc (VNA) - With tonnes of waste discarded directly into fields, lakesand ponds or dumped on roadsides for years, the northern province of Vinh Phuchas a serious pollution problem.
Provincial reports say thatVinh Yen city and Phuc Yen town alone generate 180 tonnes of domestic waste aday, and 90 percent of it is buried at temporary dumping sites.
Adding to the domesticwaste is industrial waste, waste from animal husbandry and waste generated byhandicraft villages, which means pollution has become a problem in rural areas,too.
According to provincialstatistics, the whole province generates about 186,000 tonnes of industrialsolid waste every year, 21,000 tonnes of which is hazardous waste.
Meanwhile, over 650 tonnesof rubbish are discharged every day in the province’s rural areas, of which 30 percentis not collected and the remainder is buried or burned, causing morecontamination.
There are about 300landfills in the province’s rural areas, covering an area of 300 to 2,000sq.meach, and all of these are overflowing.
The province is finding itdifficult to expand landfills because there’s limited land and a lot ofopposition from locals who don’t want to live near dumping sites.
Without local landfills,residents have to collect and gather waste before transporting it to landfillsin Vinh Yen city and Phuc Yen town for treatment.
However, these twolocalities that receive and treat waste for the whole province are not able tomanage the volumes. The localities use many incinerators, but they are not runefficiently, leading to huge amounts of untreated waste.
Sometimes residents burnwaste themselves, which worsens air pollution, said Nguyen Van Thang, Vice Chairmanof the People’s Committee of Chan Hung commune.
“We are well aware of theproblem, but can’t provide residents with any alternative solution since wedon’t have the resources to build high-capacity incinerators,” he said.
Meanwhile, all rivers inthe province are being polluted by wastewater discharged by households andcraft villages.
Tests show that the waterquality in lakes and rivers like Phan, Ca Lo and Dam Vac has deteriorated, withsome suffering serious contamination.
A decade or so ago, riversand ponds were clean enough for residents to catch shrimps and fish, and evengo swimming.
But rapid urbanisation hasled to locals residing along rivers discharging large quantities of untreatedwaste into them, seriously polluting their waters. Plastic bags full ofrotting trash have piled up and spread onto roads, rivers and ponds.
Many areas on nationalhighways, provincial roads and rural roads have become dumping sites.
For many years, both sidesof the National Highway No 2 section passing through Tan Tien and Yen Lapcommunes in Vinh Tuong district have been turned into a landfill for nearbyvillages.
According to the Phuc YenUrban Public Works and Environment Joint Stock Company, it has a 1ha dumplocated in Xuan Hoa ward, but it is full.
At a recent meeting of theprovincial People’s Council, deputies raised concerns about the heaps of wastepolluting the environment and affecting the lives of locals.
The provincial Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development has installed a system of nets onirrigation canals to prevent rubbish from flowing into fields, but pollution ofwater resources has continued.
As of 2016, the provincehad 25 units collecting and treating industrial waste licensed by competentagencies, but they only collect from big establishments. The waste created bysmall companies still goes untreated.
Officials say that relevantagencies are working together to build a concentrated waste treatment plantwith incineration technology. The province has set a target of having allindustrial zones and guild villages have standard wastewater treatment by 2025.It envisions that by then all of the waste generated in cities and towns and 80percent of the waste in rural areas will be treated.-VNA
Provincial reports say thatVinh Yen city and Phuc Yen town alone generate 180 tonnes of domestic waste aday, and 90 percent of it is buried at temporary dumping sites.
Adding to the domesticwaste is industrial waste, waste from animal husbandry and waste generated byhandicraft villages, which means pollution has become a problem in rural areas,too.
According to provincialstatistics, the whole province generates about 186,000 tonnes of industrialsolid waste every year, 21,000 tonnes of which is hazardous waste.
Meanwhile, over 650 tonnesof rubbish are discharged every day in the province’s rural areas, of which 30 percentis not collected and the remainder is buried or burned, causing morecontamination.
There are about 300landfills in the province’s rural areas, covering an area of 300 to 2,000sq.meach, and all of these are overflowing.
The province is finding itdifficult to expand landfills because there’s limited land and a lot ofopposition from locals who don’t want to live near dumping sites.
Without local landfills,residents have to collect and gather waste before transporting it to landfillsin Vinh Yen city and Phuc Yen town for treatment.
However, these twolocalities that receive and treat waste for the whole province are not able tomanage the volumes. The localities use many incinerators, but they are not runefficiently, leading to huge amounts of untreated waste.
Sometimes residents burnwaste themselves, which worsens air pollution, said Nguyen Van Thang, Vice Chairmanof the People’s Committee of Chan Hung commune.
“We are well aware of theproblem, but can’t provide residents with any alternative solution since wedon’t have the resources to build high-capacity incinerators,” he said.
Meanwhile, all rivers inthe province are being polluted by wastewater discharged by households andcraft villages.
Tests show that the waterquality in lakes and rivers like Phan, Ca Lo and Dam Vac has deteriorated, withsome suffering serious contamination.
A decade or so ago, riversand ponds were clean enough for residents to catch shrimps and fish, and evengo swimming.
But rapid urbanisation hasled to locals residing along rivers discharging large quantities of untreatedwaste into them, seriously polluting their waters. Plastic bags full ofrotting trash have piled up and spread onto roads, rivers and ponds.
Many areas on nationalhighways, provincial roads and rural roads have become dumping sites.
For many years, both sidesof the National Highway No 2 section passing through Tan Tien and Yen Lapcommunes in Vinh Tuong district have been turned into a landfill for nearbyvillages.
According to the Phuc YenUrban Public Works and Environment Joint Stock Company, it has a 1ha dumplocated in Xuan Hoa ward, but it is full.
At a recent meeting of theprovincial People’s Council, deputies raised concerns about the heaps of wastepolluting the environment and affecting the lives of locals.
The provincial Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development has installed a system of nets onirrigation canals to prevent rubbish from flowing into fields, but pollution ofwater resources has continued.
As of 2016, the provincehad 25 units collecting and treating industrial waste licensed by competentagencies, but they only collect from big establishments. The waste created bysmall companies still goes untreated.
Officials say that relevantagencies are working together to build a concentrated waste treatment plantwith incineration technology. The province has set a target of having allindustrial zones and guild villages have standard wastewater treatment by 2025.It envisions that by then all of the waste generated in cities and towns and 80percent of the waste in rural areas will be treated.-VNA
VNA
