Garbage from Vietnam’s Con Dao Islands to be shipped to mainland for treatment
Friday, February 22, 2019, 17:00 GMT+7
Administrators in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau announced a decision on Thursday to transport the garbage piling up on the nearby islands of Con Dao to the mainland for proper treatment.
Over VND35 billion (US$1.51 million) is expected to be earmarked for the project, which will involve compressing and shipping nearly 100,000 metric tons of garbage from Con Dao to the mainland, according to the province’s deputy chairman Le Tuan Quoc.
Con Dao are administered as a district of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The waste is expected to be pressed into 450kg bales before being loaded onto ships for transport, Quoc added.
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| A man looks at the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast, in late 2018. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
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| Garbage overflows the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
Le Van Phong, chairman of the district, said the 3,800-square-meter landfill on the islands have been overloaded after nearly two decades of use.
The islands' garbage is now being treated via incineration but the facility can handle only five metric tons a day, about one-third of the total, he said.
The rudimentary dumping ground is also emitting an unpleasant stench and threatening the safety of underground water and the nearby beach.
The waste, mostly plastic, is piled in massive heaps in the vicinity of a historical structure commemorating the escape of 198 Vietnamese imprisoned during French colonial rule in 1952.
It is still unclear when the first batch of garbage from Con Dao will be transported ashore for treatment.
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| Workers move garbage at an incineration plant on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
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| Garbage at the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
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| A historical commemorative structure near the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
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| A man prays at a historical commemorative structure near the landfill on Con Dao Islands, off the southern Vietnamese coast. Photo: Dong Ha / Tuoi Tre |
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