Some 5,000 metric tons of refuse next to an ecological urban area in Hai Duong City, northern Vietnam has been sitting there for three years, releasing a foul odor and causing environmental pollution, while the firm liable for garbage processing has failed to fulfill its duty, as revealed in an exposé by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. 

The landfill with multiple layers of refuse, mostly plastic waste, is located right next to an ecological urban area alongside the Thai Binh River in the city’s Hai Tan Ward, in Hai Duong Province.

The dumping ground, which has been there since 2019, now stretches hundreds of meters with its height reaching up to five meters, as observed by reporters on the site.  

Many large blocks of waste were seen right beside houses in the residential area. 

Without being covered or shielded, the refuse gives out terrible odors on hot, sunny days, while during rainy days, wastewater from the site leaks out and mixes with rainwater, flowing out into the surrounding areas.

The foul odors from the refuse considerably affect the quality of life of local residents.

Pham Van Mai, chairman of the Hai Tan Ward administration, said this residential area was built on the foundation of a rubbish dump that had received waste from across the province in the past.

In 2011, the provincial authorities officially closed the dumping ground but but how to handle the volume of waste having been buried as well as the remaining rubbish there remains a knotty problem, Mai said.

Huy Hoang Hai Duong Co. Ltd., a local firm, was later assigned by the local government to remove all the waste, including buried refuse, from the dumping ground to totally eradicate it.

According to the company’s initial calculation, it would have to remove and dispose of around 294,000 metric tons of waste, but the actual figure has increased to more than 500,000 metric tons.

To date, around 5,000 metric tons of waste has remained at the site, pending transport for recycling after being preliminarily processed.  

The stagnation of the waste was attributed to the suspension of a factory that the company built to recycle plastic waste into plastic grains.

The factory was closed six months ago to protect the health of people who live in the nearby areas, the company explained.

The company has proposed the provincial authorities lease it an appropriate location to set up a new waste recycling factory, among other proposals.

As other local agencies have yet to outline any specific solutions for this matter, the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment has requested the company to complete the handling of the outstanding waste before May 15.

In May last year, the firm made a written commitment that it would relocate all the waste from the dumping ground to another place for processing by mid-July the same year, but it has failed to deliver on its promise so far, the department said.

In November 2021, the department urged the company to speed up its waste processing and cover the waste piles with proper wraps to prevent the garbage from penetrating the surrounding environment.

However, at the moment, the waste at the site is still uncovered, continuing to cause environmental pollution and blemish the local landscape, the department warned.

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