VietNamNet Bridge – The heaps of plastic waste and nylon bags piled on the roadsides are the images seen regular in Trung Van commune of Tu Liem district, Hanoi.

Here in the locality, people have to live and struggle with the pollution. Especially, the Trung Van Hamlet still does not have clean water to use, though it is located among industrial zones and high end apartment blocs.

Dao Dang Anh, Head of Trung Van Hamlet, said that all the 780 households with 3500 residents all use water from wells. The water is very yellow and stinking. However, local residents still have use the water in their daily life, though the water remains muddy after going through the filtration.

According to Anh, the strong development of the industrial zones nearby has jammed some sewer systems, thus making the waste water stuck. However, the waste water that causes the environment pollution is mainly sourced from the plastics recycling workshops in the hamlet.

Ten years ago, most of the local residents lived on agricultural production. However, in recent years, they do not have land to cultivate any more, because they have left to give place to industrial zones and urban areas.

Since those days, local residents began shifting to recycle plastic products to earn their living. At first, only several households took this job, but the figure has been increasing rapidly. Now 70 percent of the households in the locality earn their living by making plastics from waste.

Nguyen Thu Hang, a local resident, said tens of tons of untreated waste and thousands of cubic meters of water are discharging into the environment every day, thus seriously polluting the air and the water.

“Some people in our hamlet have suffered cancer diseases recently, possibly because of the polluted air and water sources,” Hang complained.

Looking forward to clean water

After the waste nylon bags and plastic bottles are cleaned, they are put into kilns to make the simple products such as rope, or plastic baskets.

The plastics recycled workshops in the locality have brought a well-off life to local residents. A lot of people there can buy expensive home appliances and fund their children’s higher education.

However, they have to pay a heavy price for the expensive appliances by having to breathe dirty air and water.

Anh said that in 2000, the Hanoi People’s Committee allocated a budget to build a clean water supply station in Trung Van Hamlet with the capacity of 1000 cubic meters per day, capitalized at 5.7 billion dong.

However, the project has never been completed. Initially expected to become operational in 2004, but the Hanoi Water Supply and Urban Area Company had only finished the construction of some items of the plant by the end of 2004.

In early 2006, the Trung Van commune people’s committee installed water meters to bring water to every household. However, the main pipeline then broke down, and the plant has been left untouched since then. Meanwhile, local residents are still eager for clean water.

According to the Environment Technology Institute, the waste water samples at the plastics recycled workshops in Trung Van commune have BOD5, COD and suspended substances higher than the allowed levels. The substances generated during the production, such as H2S, NO2 and CO all are harmful to people’s health.

Dan Viet