Phu Quoc City, an island off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, will set up a camera system in Duong Dong Ward on a trial basis to raise public awareness about environmental protection and impose fines on those who dump household waste at improper sites.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Vietnam and the city’s natural resources and environment sub-department will jointly install the cameras near the Duong Dong River and a local wet market of the same name, Nguyen Thi My Quynh, project manager at the WWF Vietnam, said on Thursday.

The installation is under a WWF project to reduce ocean plastic waste in the country, Quynh added.

The island city will also install two floating yards on the Duong Dong River for garbage collection.

“We’ll join a campaign to raise the awareness of local fishermen, market vendors, and residents about waste management," Quynh said.

“The camera system will be launched on December 2 this year.”

Findings from a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter showed that authorities had set up cameras and placed trash bins at the Duong Dong market, the Nguyen Trung Truc Bridge, and along Tran Phu Street by 9:00 am on Thursday.

Nguyen Van Tuong, a local inhabitant, told Tuoi Tre that part of the island's waste was washed ashore by ocean waves, adding that a number of local people littered, thereby negatively affecting the cityscape.

Tuong added that he endorsed the use of surveillance cameras to spot and fine those who litter to deter others from doing so.

The city daily discharges some 180 metric tons of waste, which will be collected and transported to a waste collection point in Cua Duong Commune, according to the local administration.

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