Hanoi waste collection faces challenges

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According to statistics, the city discards about 7,000 tonnes of waste every day, of which construction sites account for about 25%.

Solid waste is mainly transported to four landfill sites built by sanitation companies in cooperation with land owners: Van Noi and Nguyen Khe (Dong Anh district), Vinh Quynh (Thuong Tin district) and one in Dan Phuong district.

However, according to Phap luat Viet Nam newspaper, all four sites are already full and may be closed next year.

The Hanoi People’s Committee plans to build 14 waste collection and treatment sites, but so far no funding has been released to implement the project.

The implication is that in addition to the amount of waste collected and buried, there is still a large amount of household and construction site waste that is dumped illegally into ponds, lakes and vacant land.

In the suburban districts of Dong Anh, Long Bien, Ha Dong, Thanh Tri and Gia Lam, dumping illegal waste has caused a headache for authorities and residents.

In rural areas, amount of household solid waste is daily collected and buried by local people. Mainly they throw waste into the family garden, road or heath.

Old beds, wardrobes, mattresses, sofas and sacks of construction waste were a common sight in Hanoi, and workers were forced to clean them up in the evening.

Most people don’t separate their rubbish at home, and dump it all in the same bags.

Dinh Thi Thuy from Ung Hoa district said she left bags containing all her family’s household waste, included plastic bags and bottles, and glass, in front of her house for the rubbish trucks to pick up.

One of the difficulties of waste disposal is that there are no specific regulations on collection and treatment.

Dr Nguyen Duc Khien, former director of the city’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment, said solid waste collection, transportation and treatment was not being implemented effectively across the city.

The city lacks regulations and penalties to minimise the negative impact caused by solid waste on the environment, according to Khien.

Article 11 of Regulation No.16/2013/QĐ of the Hanoi People’s Committee regulates that "Organisations, households and individuals that generate solid construction waste must take measures to protect the environment. They cannot use pavements, roads or public places to dump construction waste.”

Decree No.155/2016/NĐ-CP stated that throwing construction waste into the street, even mixing it with domestic waste, was illegal.

Khien suggested hotlines should be set up so that people could contact companies to come and collect waste from construction sites for a fee.

Local authorities needed to issue regulations for people to classify waste before putting it in the bin.