Garbage ... attractive

There have been at least six investment projects with a registered capital of about US $ 200 million and nearly VND 300 billion in the field of domestic waste treatment is being considered by HCMC.

The field of capital is considered to be a problem now becomes more exciting, attracting foreign and domestic investors . Sharing this optimistic signal, Dr. Nguyen Trung Viet - head of solid waste management department HCMC resources and environment - more information:

- According to the plan, Phuoc Hiep garbage disposal site (Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City) has a total area of ​​over 800ha, of which 100ha is used for garbage disposal, the rest is built for garbage treatment plants. However, the area of ​​100 hectares of landfill is being adjusted because according to the city's environmental protection strategy, it will soon be reduced by 50%.

Waste treatment site at Phuoc Hiep landfill, Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City School
Waste treatment at Phuoc Hiep landfill, Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: TTO)

Meanwhile, Da Phuoc solid waste treatment area (Binh Chanh district) with an area of ​​128ha, is capable of using for more than 20 years. And Thu Thua garbage disposal area (Long An) with an area of ​​1,760ha is submitting a detailed planning approval.

With the above figures, I affirmed that in the next 20-25 years, Ho Chi Minh City still has land to bury garbage. But the problem is whether there is a need to 'sacrifice' a large area of ​​land just to bury it? It is not to mention that when burying garbage, no matter how careful it is, the risk of environmental pollution in the long term is still very high.

* But how to reduce landfill area?

- Ho Chi Minh City is drastically implementing socialization in the field of garbage treatment. In the near future, there will be many projects invested by different economic companies with a large amount of capital. Initially, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City has selected six investment projects to treat garbage.

The amount of useful waste and recycling will be more and more. Strive to 2008, in Ho Chi Minh City, the highest amount of waste to be buried is 50%.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Viet (photo: TTO)

* Is the socialization policy very strong to reduce the burden of spending hundreds of billions of dong each year on this field?

- The cost of waste management in Ho Chi Minh City will increase. Reason: In the past, Ho Chi Minh City only buried unsanitary garbage, or in other words, landfills were only a place to collect garbage. Therefore, the cost of managing and treating garbage . has not been calculated properly and fully.

If there is no change and correct calculation, then the waste management costs in 2007 in Ho Chi Minh City will increase to VND 459 billion (2006 is VND 167 billion). But after calculating correctly and fully calculating, the cost of garbage disposal only increases at the highest rate of 3% / year.

However, budget expenditures for waste disposal will be reduced since 2007 is expected to collect sanitation fees for waste sources. In addition, in the waste sector, HCMC will also benefit from a number of projects. The first revenue can be attributed to the 'clean development mechanism' (CDM) project implemented at the Phuoc Hiep landfill (Cu Chi) and Dong Thanh (Hoc Mon) yard, estimated at about $ 22 million paid by Korean partners.

It is expected that by 2010 Ho Chi Minh City will reduce budget expenditures for waste management and treatment by 30-50% and by 2015, the revenues from garbage in this city will be enough to cover the cost of managing and treating garbage. .

* Did you say it is possible in 2007 to collect sanitation fees from households and see this as an important source of revenue to reduce budget spending?

- Average HCMC people only have to pay for sanitation (collecting and treating garbage .) an amount equal to 15% of the total monthly expenses for electricity, water, sanitation . A household's sanitation fee is only 0.25% (1/40) of a person's income in Ho Chi Minh City. Thus, it is estimated that each household member pays about 3,000 VND / month for sanitation costs, and the amount of money that households have to pay is almost unchanged.

On the other hand, the budget also has to shoulder cleaning costs for business objects. In the coming time, the city will also calculate correctly and fully calculate sanitation costs for establishments, companies . in the fields.

QUOC THANH made

'For a long time, Ho Chi Minh City has only one state-owned company assigned to manage and operate landfills.Every problem is very difficult to handle, in other words, when serious pollution occurs, it is not possible to use strong measures and can not close.

But coming here will be different, when there are many companies participating in the treatment of garbage and if ' he ' causes pollution, does not meet the environmental standards, it must be handled in the correct order and regulations.The worst case scenario is to close some construction sites, and HCMC still has places to treat the garbage that are always prepared.

Whether to take seriously, handle to the point or not is part of the attitude of responsible people.The head of the solid waste management department will be dismissed if the construction sites and factories treat garbage causing pollution.Must trust us, don't put doubts from the beginning.Then every day society will look at what we do and express our attitude . '.