VietNamNet Bridge - Ly Son, an island famous for special garlic priced at millions of dong per kilogram, and a tourist destination with historical and cultural relics, is facing serious environmental problems.

 

 

Ly Son is called the “garlic kingdom” and pearl of Vietnam because of the white garlic grown on the island. The island also has ancient temples, beautiful mountains and beaches.

Ly Son, like other urban areas, is facing environmental problems caused by the rapid increase in population and strong tourism development. The increased domestic waste, plus waste discharged by tourists, are threatening the island.

In summer, Vietnamese flock to Ly Son to avoid the April heat, bringing along their garbage to the island.

There is no waste treatment system on the island. The temporary dumping ground, covering an area of 1,000 square meters, near the sea, is getting overloaded. 

On average, the 20,000 residents on the island produce over 10 tons of waste every day. 

Since there is no area set aside for waste disposal, people have been throwing garbage wherever they can. Only a part of the garbage can be collected, burnt or dumped.

A solid waste treatment plant has been built with the designed capacity of 15 tons of garbage a day. However, it has not been put into operation yet because of a lack of money.

Tran Ngoc Nguyen, chair of the Ly Son district People’s Committee, said it is beyond the local authorities’ capability to find money to run the plant.

The local authorities have joined forces with the Environment General Directorate to develop a project on treating waste in a sustainable way in Ly Son. Nguyen said the locals will be asked to classify waste at the source to better serve the project.

Le My Lien, director of the Quang Ngai provincial Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said the revenue from environmental fee collection is not sufficient to ensure the operation of the plant. Meanwhile, local authorities cannot allocate a budget for the plant operation.

Therefore, Lien said, local authorities have called on people to take part in the investment, management and operation of the plant.

“The first thing we need to do is to set up a team in charge of collecting garbage in Ly Son,” Lien said.

A group of garbage collectors has existed for the last few years. However, they only cover residential quarters in An Vinh Commune, while residents in An Hai Commune have to dump the garbage themselves.

Thien Nhien