Vietnam Biggest City to Shut Down Stinky Garbage Collection Points by Sept

Ho Chi Minh City will shut down 24 garbage collection points by Sept as they are seriously polluting the living environment of local residents, vice chairman of the municipal People’s Committee of City Nguyen Huu Tin said at a recent meeting. The locals complain that the garbage collection points are often overloaded and smell unpleasant, saying how miserable they are because of the stinking wastewater leaked from garbage collection points. “Poor management is to blame for the situation,” Mr. Tin added. Residents often complained to authorities, but they received no response and the situation continued, he said. The city now has nearly 50 garbage collection points, however only eight of these are up to standard. Thus, Mr. Tin urged the municipal Natural Resources and Environment Department to improve the  quality of another 13 garbage collection points by Nov 30. The remaining garbage collection points must be upgraded to meet standards of environmental protection by 2015, he said. The department has worked with other agencies to allocate more land area for expanding garbage collection points. It plans to build garbage collection points with advanced technologies in the future. It is estimated that the southern metropolis releases about 7,000 tons of waste per day and spends VND235 billion ($11.08 million) from the municipal budget on waste treatment per year. (Vietnam News Aug 15 p5, Dai Doan Ket – Great Unity Aug 12)