Ho Chi Minh City has been heavily contaminated by many sources of pollution, local environment officials have stated during a recent meeting.

The municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment reported on the current contamination in the city and solutions to the problem at the meeting with the city’s administration on Wednesday.

Amid multiple sources of impurity, pollutants released by households and industrial waste in the city have raised the most concern.

According to Nguyen Thi Thanh My, deputy director of the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the amount of garbage across the southern hub can sometimes top 8,000 cubic meters a day.

About 76 percent of the collected waste is buried for disposal, 14.7 percent of it is recycled and transformed into compost, and the rest is incinerated to produce electricity, My elaborated.

Rubbish across the city is treated at two facilities, the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex in Binh Chanh District and the Tay Bac solid waste treatment zone in Cu Chi District.

Despite the large volume of garbage, the insufficient number of transfer stations has increased the risk of environmental pollution brought about by the waste.

Out of 31 transfer points in the metropolis, only five are up to the current standard, Deputy Director My said.

She said more advanced technology is needed in treating solid waste given the increasing amount of garbage every year.        

The official also called for more proper categorization of rubbish at its source, stating that local citizens should be encouraged to classify the trash at their homes.

Meanwhile, a representative from the municipal Department of Finance suggested the removal of transfer stations in the city.

As such facilities are poorly designed, exuding foul smells and noise in many areas, garbage should be transported straight to the treatment complexes, the representative recommended.

According to the report of the environment department, wastewater discharged from industrial facilities across the southern hub has also contributed to the contamination of many local canals.

Liquid waste in several residential areas has been directly released into the environment due to a lack of treatment plants.

Air pollution has also been an unresolved problem as 30 percent out of 830 factories across the city are not equipped with decent emission treatment systems.

Regarding the unpleasant odor that has been enshrouding the southern part of the city, Nguyen Toan Thang, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, affirmed that inspection results would be announced next week. 

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!