VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese southerners have been flocking to Ly Son in Quang Ngai province to avoid the April heat, bringing along their garbage to the island.

In fact, local people have been living with domestic garbage over the last many years. Since there is no area set aside on the island for waste disposal, people have been throwing garbage wherever they can. Only a part of the garbage can be collected, burnt or dumped.

However, the situation is getting more and more serious because of garbage disposed by travelers. Travelers leave litter everywhere.

Pham Thi Man, a local resident, complained that the rubbish heaps are growing wider and higher because the waste has not been taken away for treatment.

Pham Thi Huong, Deputy Chair of Ly Son District People’s Committee, affirmed that the degree of environmental pollution has become alarming. She said the 22,000 residents of Ly Son dispose of their waste in the coastal areas. In rainy season, the waves bring the waste back to shore, making the problem more serious.

Local authorities, acting on the complaints of residents, have repeatedly asked the provincial authorities to allocate a budget for a waste treatment plant on Ly Son. After a lot of exertion, the government in April 2013 approved a plan to build a solid waste treatment plant, capitalized at VND40 billion.

Ly Son’s people leapt for joy when told this news. However, since groundbreaking ceremony in November of last year, no progress has been made on construction of the project. The plant was initially slated to be put into operation by mid-2014.

According to the Ly Son district People’s Committee, only a few milestones in the project’s development have been attained so far on the 2,000 square meter plot allocated for the plant.

Sixty-seven households who lived in the area of the plot, had to leave their homes and give up farming to make way for the waste treatment plant. They have expressed disappointment over the slow pace of the project.

Duong Van Binh in An Hai commune said he was asked to leave as quickly as possible to allow for the site for the project to be cleared.

“Our efforts were in vain. The project has been going at a snail’s pace. When will we have the plant?” he asked. “It is obvious that the project will not be completed before the deadline”.

“We have fallen sick because of the environmental pollution while waiting for the plant to be built,” he added.

Ly Son’s Chair, Tran Ngoc Nguyen, said he fears the environmental degradation will only worsen, not only adversely affecting the lives of local people, but also harming the local marine environment. This, he said, risks spoiling the image of Ly Son as a beautiful island, one which deserves to be discovered by travelers.

Thien Nhien