Many streets in Hanoi have once again plunged into a sea of garbage because the city’s landfill has been overloaded while a new waste-to-energy plant project has lagged behind its inauguration schedule.

Le Thu Tra, a 32-year-old staff at an office building on Duy Tan Street in Cau Giay District, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday afternoon that garbage has been left uncollected along the street over the past two days.

“We have to wear a mask all the time due to the smelly odor [from the garbage],” Tra said.

Not only Duy Tan Street, the filthy scene can be seen on many other roads such as Cau Giay, Tran Quoc Hoan, Hoang Quoc Viet, Nguyen Van Huyen, and Thanh Thai in the same district.

Garbage piles up on Nguyen Van Huyen Street in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, June 17, 2022. Photo: Danh Khang / Tuoi Tre

This is not the first time that garbage has amassed in the area, according to 61-year-old Quoc Khanh Thanh, who is living on Tran Quoc Hoan Street.

“In the past two years, piles of stinky household waste stay uncollected every several months,” Thanh said.

Garbage piles up on Tran Quoc Hoan Street in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, June 17, 2022. Photo: Q. The / Tuoi Tre

The overload of garbage at the city’s Nam Son landfill in Soc Son District is to blame for the week-long garbage pileup, according to a leader of the People’s Committee of the district.

The Hanoi Urban Environment Company (URENCO) was expected to reduce the amount of garbage transported to Nam Son landfill to 3,500 metric tons this month, according to the city’s plan; but the dumped waste volume has remained at around 5,500 metric tons, the leader said.

Garbage piles up on Tran Quoc Hoan Street in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, June 17, 2022. Photo: Q. The / Tuoi Tre

Meanwhile, the inauguration of the new waste-to-energy plant located in the premises of the landfill complex, which was originally scheduled to be put into operation on April 30 to help raise waste treatment capacity in the city, has been postponed repeatedly.

In response to a Tuoi Tre request on the issue, a representative of the Department of Construction of Hanoi, which administers Nam Son landfill complex, admitted the sluggish progress of the new waste-to-energy plant, but did not mention any solutions to the garbage crisis.

An environment worker collects garbage cart piling up on a street in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, June 17, 2022. Photo: Danh Khang / Tuoi Tre

An environment worker pushes a garbage cart on Duy Tan Street in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, June 17, 2022. Photo: Danh Khang / Tuoi Tre

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