Authorities in Bao Loc City in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong said on Monday that more than 26,000 metric tons of untreated garbage was swamping a waste treatment plant in the city after many workers gave up their jobs as they had not got paid.

Green Friendly Environment JSC, the operator of the plant, has not paid salaries to many workers for two to six months, according to a statement that the company sent to the Lam Dong People’s Committee.

A total of 40 workers of the company have quit as a result.

The firm attributed its failure to pay the workers’ salaries to the Bao Loc City administration’s lateness in paying waste treatment costs.

The company last week suggested the authorities in Bao Loc City and Lam Dong Province make payments for the waste treatment from April to June this year, totaling VND2.7 billion (US$105,257), and cover an upfront fee of 30 percent of the waste treatment costs in July so that the firm could pay salaries to its workers.

The administration in Bao Loc explained that Green Friendly Environment JSC is getting involved in tax issues, so the city cannot make payments to the company.

The Lam Dong administration has recently tasked the provincial Department of Finance with coordinating with Bao Loc City to weigh Green Friendly Environment JSC’s proposal, deal with the issue in accordance with their competence and the law, and report the results of the mission before July 15.

They will have to report the issues that fall beyond their jurisdiction to the provincial administration.

The waste treatment plant in Bao Loc began operating in February 2017.

The city discharges some 120 metric tons of garbage per day.

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