VietNamNet Bridge - The waste treatment complexes in Da Nang and Hue are becoming overloaded, while the two landfills in Ha Long City have had to shut down because of pollution.

Da Nang, called the most livable city in Vietnam, with more than 1 million people, produces 1,000 tons of domestic waste each day. It is expected that the figure will be 1,800 tons by 2025.

For a long time, the waste has been buried at Khanh Son Landfill. However, after 30 years of operation, the landfill has become overloaded, causing serious consequences to the locals’ living environment. 

About 1,700 households around Khanh Son landfill have to breathe polluted air, with a strong odor. Local people on many occasions have tried to prevent trucks carrying waste from entering the landfill. 

Da Nang leaders acknowledge that the pollution treatment at the landfill in the past ‘did not follow necessary steps as required’. 

To mitigate pollution, the city decided to build a 700 cubic meter per day center to treat waste water leaked from the landfill and install two cameras there to supervise the waste treatment. The landfill area has been reduced to 2,000 square meters.

In an effort to solve the waste treatment problem, the director of the Construction Department in late 2018 suggested classifying waste at source. 

Under the plan, expected to be implemented in 2019-2022, waste will be classified into four groups, including waste from construction, recyclable waste, hazardous waste and others. In 2023-2025, waste will be classified into five groups.

“We have also proposed to build two or three waste collection stations. If troubles occur with Khanh Son landfill, the city will still have other places to store waste,” he said.

In Thua Thien-Hue province, the Thuy Phuong landfill in Huong Thuy commune, covering an area of 4 hectares, is the biggest waste receipt and treatment center. The domestic waste from Hue City and Huong Thuy is collected and brought there.

Hepco, the environment service company, collects more than 350 tons of domestic garbage each day, of which 150 tons are buried at Thuy Phuong Landfill and 200 tons are carried to Tam Sinh Nghia’s plant near the landfill for treatment.

However, Tam Sinh Nghia stopped receiving waste months ago because ‘there still is a mountain of waste in the plant’.

Tran Quang Tuan, director of the plant, said the enterprise is building more incinerators, while 1,000 tons of waste remain untreated.

The waste treatment interruption and temporary closure of the landfill in Loc Thuy commune have led to an increase of 350 tons of waste being carried to Thuy Phuong Landfill each day. 

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