More effort to stop pollution
According to statistics of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, total amount of domestic waste in Ha Noi is around 6,500 tons per day; around 4,200 tons of them is in urban area, and the rest is in suburban area. Urban and rural waste is forecasted to further increase, which means capital city is facing more and more problems of waste collection, transport and treatment properly.
In order to proactively prevent, stop and reduce pollution and create significant changes in environmental protection, the city has allocated budget and mobilized investment sources for environmental protection.
Many enterprises join hands with the city’s government. So far, a number of projects have been being implemented, such as hygienic landfill of waste under control in waste treatment plants in Xuan Son (Son Tay town), Nam Son (Soc Son suburban district), and Kieu Ky (GIa Lam suburban district); Fukuoka landfill model which is applied for three hectares in Xuan Son (Son Tay town); technology for bio-composting which is applying in Cau Dien Waste Treatment Plant (Bac Tu Liem district) and Kieu Ky (Gia Lam suburban district).
Furthermore, Ha Noi is launching incineration technology for around 11% of the waste in several plants, such as Xuan Son waste treatment plant operated by Thang Long Environment Joint Stock Company (capacity of 450 tons per day), a plant operated by Thanh Cong Cooperative (capacity of 150 tons per day), a plant operated by Thanh Quang Joint Stock Company (designed capacity of 200 tons per day), and industrial waste incinerator in Nam Son, Soc Son district (capacity of 75 tons per day). Authorities take a lot of actionin an effort to improve people’s awareness of environment and raise their sense of responsibility; for example, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment coordinates with the Peasants’ Association of Ha Noi to provide knowledge on waste classification at the source and use organic waste as fertilizer for crops in Tien Yen commune, Hoai Duc district. This model is feasible and has its advantages. Making organic fertilizer from domestic waste can help easing environmental problem and utilize the waste.
Furthermore, city’s departments, agencies and unions cooperate with each other to launch campaign “Fields without straw burning” to encourage people not to burn straw after harvest, which can seriously pollute the environment, and conduct other significant activities to contribute to environment protection.
Measures and missions are specified
In an effort to realize assignments given by the city, the Department of Home Affairs takes responsibility and establishes inter-disciplinary inspection teams to conduct periodical and unscheduled inspection, focusing on environmental sanitation, domestic waste collection and transport in 30 districts and towns. So far, a number of districts have seen remarkable progress in environmental sanitation. They have their plans on increasing mechanization in maintaining environmental sanitation, collecting and transporting waste and construction waste.
Units in charge of waste collection and transport purchase equipments and supplies according to their commitment on bid documents, register the number of garbage trucks which will transport waste to concentrated plants, supervise operation of the trucks via GPS, and set up more trash cans.
According to the Department of Construction, the Municipal People’s Committee provides financial support of VND 200 million for each suburban district to build its waste storage sites. Thanks to the support, now there are 23 waste storage sites in Thuong Tin suburban district, 37 sites in Phuc Tho, 22 in Chuong My, 25 in Ung Hoa, 21 in Phu Xuyen, 11 in Ba Vi and 16 in Dan Phuong. Furthermore, the suburban districts arrange waste storage sites in communes and towns to collect daily domestic waste.
According to report of the People’s Committees of suburban districts, all of the storage sites are surrounded by walls; some of them have roof. There is no wastewater collection system. The storage sites fundamentally meet demand of keeping domestic waste in the localities, and are located far from residential areas.
To overcome the environment protection problems, the Municipal Party Committee issued Resolution No. 11-NQ/TU on increasing environmental protection in Ha Noi to 2020 and the following years, and Municipal People’s Committee issued Plan No. 160/KH-UBND dated June 1, 2017 on implementing Resolution No. 11-NQ/TU with specific measures and tasks.
For their part, city’s agencies and sectors continue their effort to perfect policies and laws on rural environment protection and figure out measures to handle solid waste, review, amend and supplement technological processes, cost norms and unit prices in the field of environment protection in rural area according to Plan No. 160/KH-UBND of Municipal People’s Committee. People’s Committees at suburban district level increase inspection and supervision, in particular community supervision, and severely punish violators according to Resolution No. 155/2016/CP-CP dated November 18, 2016 of the Government on administrative fine in environment protection, strengthen apparatus of environment protection, agencies at all levels, improve quality of environment protection at suburban district and commune levels, and increase popularization of proper waste disposal among people.
Furthermore, the city encourages application of new models in waste collection, transport and treatment, such as on-site storage, classification and treatment of domestic solid waste. Units in charge of environment protection increase leadership to perform following tasks:
- Maintain proper distance among trash cans; increase the dynamism and creativity in management, and save the expenses for equipment and supplies;
- Create proper policy to mobilize funding and non-state investment in solid waste collection, transport and treatment in rural area, thus easing the pressure on concentrated waste treatment plants of the capital city.
With a number of measures being taken, Ha Noi expects to see significant progress in environment protection, create a healthy environment for the people and develop a civilized, modern, green, clean and beautiful city.
