The administration of a ward in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam, will establish a dedicated team in charge of detecting and handling cases of random garbage disposal to protect the living environment for local residents.

The An Phu Dong Ward will install cameras and set up a specialized team to monitor and check local riverbanks and canals to detect, prevent and handle cases of illegal dumping, Le Phan Quang Tien, deputy chairman of the ward People’s Committee, in District 12, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Such a task force is necessary as people who sneakily dispose of waste often commit their wrong act at night or early morning, when everybody is in a deep sleep, Tien said.

“In order to eliminate improper garbage disposal, we are implementing flexible and practical solutions to tighten control over environmental sanitation, including enhancing public awareness of environmental protection,” the official added. 

He emphasized that the ward will adopt a mechanism to mobilize the role of people and communities to detect and denounce acts of littering in public places.

At the same time, authorities will reward individuals and units who promptly identify and report violators, Tien stated.

Currently, there have been a lot of rubbish heaps alongside the banks of the Vam Thuat River and on roads, with rats and cockroaches running in and out, Tuoi Tre (Youth) reporters recorded on the site.

Except for small volumes of domestic waste, such garbage there is mainly industrial and construction waste, including broken pieces of metal, glass and electronic appliances.  

Many people even burned metal waste to get copper wires, causing smoke and dust pollution and posing risks of fire or explosion, locals complained.

“Most of the refuse here has been brought in by tricycles hired by people living in other localities,” Son, a local public utility staff, said, adding that such tricycles often came late at night to dump waste stealthily. 

Son emphasized that there are not enough forces to handle such violations.

Thao, a woman who owns a beverage shop in the riverbank area, said there were times when waste occupied roadways and travelers had to avoid them while going by.

“Recently, some residents had to spend millions of dong (VND1 million = US$41) hiring people to clean up trash heaps that are ‘as high as mountains,’ Thao said.  

She noted that authorities have caught and penalized many people who randomly disposed of waste here but the situation has yet to be improved.

Thao said locals will help local administration to drive back the situation by detecting and reporting those who commit such acts, but heavy fines should be imposed to deter wrongdoers.

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