HCM City’s residents complain about waste treatment stench
Residents in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 have demanded that authorities should resolve the environmental problems caused by Da Phuoc solid waste treatment complex and the bad odour from its landfill.
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The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment on July 2 issued a document with proposed measures in reply to their demand, but they did not go far enough in dispelling the odour.
Meanwhile, environmental experts said the volume of waste dumped at the Da Phuoc site needed to be reduced.
The District 7-based Phu My Hung Development Corp., which has developed an urban area in District 7 where thousands of people live, has petitioned relevant agencies to take measures to prevent the odour since it has no authority to deal with environmental problems.
According to Dr Pham Viet Thuan from the HCM City Institute for Natural Resources and Environment, before deodorising the area the volume of waste dumped at Da Phuoc has to be reduced.
The enormous volumes of wastes dumped there – 5,000 tonnes a day – cause the emission of large volumes of gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, which then spread around the Sai Gon South area.
Da Phuoc needs to return 2,000 tonnes of waste per day to the Phuoc Hiep waste treatment facility in Cu Chi district and spray air fresheners at Da Phuoc.
He said taking solid waste to the Phuoc Hiep dumping site would also help the city reduce costs since Da Phuoc charged higher.
Huynh Minh Nhut, Director of the HCM City Urban Environment Company Limited, said his company was ready to dump wastes at Phuoc Hiep if the city authorities agree.
