VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi will run out of room for rubbish by 2012, warns the Ha Noi Department of Natural Resources and Environment.


HTML clipboard Rubbish is evened out before dumping at Ha Noi's Nam Son Dump. Authorities plan to expand the 83ha dump by 100ha in order to cope with the city's increasing waste problem. (Photo: VNS)
The total amount of solid household waste discharged each day in the city is currently estimated at 5,000 tonnes, and the quantity of waste is growing at a pace of 15 per cent per year, the department has estimated.


Most of the rubbish is dumped or recycled at three rubbish dumps in Soc Son and Chuong My districts and of Son Tay Town, or at waste treatment plants in the town and Tu Liem District, said the department's deputy director, Pham Van Khanh, at a recent workshop on environmental education and information.

"Land resources are limited, so dumps are just a temporary measure, and most of the dumps are going to be full soon," Khanh said.


Local people still had a habit of using plastic bags for discarding rubbish, which are difficult to treat and recycle, he said, estimating that households threw away about 200 tonnes of nylon bags each day.

Meanwhile, up to 85-90 per cent of dumps in use had failed to meet sanitation standards, posing high health and environmental risks.


To solve the problem, the city had invested in upgrading and expanding dumps and waste treatment plants, seeking to improve their capacity and use more modern technology to protect the environment, he added. The Nam Son dump, for example, would be expanded by 100ha, and a new waste treatment project would be built in Chuong My District this year.


A modern new US$140 million waste treatment facility began construction in September last year in Soc Son District and is expected to commence operations later this year with a capacity to process 2,000 tonnes of rubbish daily.


VietNamNet/Viet Nam News