A 20-meter stretch of garbage along National Highway No.32 in Phuc Tho District, Hanoi has become a popular dump site for local residents and businesses looking for an easy spot to drop their household and industrial waste.

Cloth, adhesive tape, paper, vegetables, animal bones, rotten eggs, and half-eaten fruit leftover from local markets, food stalls, households, and factories are piled high along the highway in Phuc Tho’s Phung Thuong Commune.

The situation has gotten so bad that several motorcyclists have gotten into accidents while trying to navigate through the rubbish scattered throughout the road. 

To make matters worse, rainy weather over the past few days has caused the garbage to begin decomposing and blanketed the area in the foul stench of rotting waste.

A woman dumps trash on a street in Hanoi. Photo: Tuoi Tre

“Many people leave dump their garbage here when it’s dark out or in the early morning hours, so it’s hard to catch them,” said Can Thi Hoa, a local woman.

Authorities attribute the issue to the fact that the area used to be a ‘transit point’ for the commune’s garbage, meaning local residents were actually expected to leave their waste along the highway. 

When the local government changed the policy in a bid to improve sanitary conditions, many local residents chose to stick to their habits.

Son Tay Urban and Environment JSC is currently the contractor charged with collecting trash directly from the residents and transferring it to garbage trucks so it can be brought to a landfill.

A long stretch of illegally dumped garbage is seen in Hanoi. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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