HCM City buries much of all its solid waste instead of classifyingand processing it, thus affecting the environment, and officials arecalling for seeking investment from more sources and greater use oftechnology.
According to Vo Thanh Huynh Anh of theDepartment of Natural Resources and Environment, of the 72,000 tonnes ofwaste generated every day, around 60 percent are buried undergroundinstead of being appropriately classified and treated.
It is done by the HCM City Ltd. One Member Urban Environment andVietnam Waste Treatment Ltd. Company, both State-run utilities.
The rest is processed to make compost fertiliser by Vietstar, Tam Sinh Nghia, and Thanh Cong companies.
However, the compost plants are not operating efficiently, causing economic loss.
Dr Le Van Khoa of the HCM City Polytechnic University saidthe problem is that the city lacks technologies to classify waste beforetreatment.
Since 2004 the city has been running apilot programme to classify solid wastes before treatment in Districts1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, and Cu Chi and atwholesale markets.
But it has not proven effective since only 25 percent of the solid waste is classified before treatment.
The city lacks the funds required to invest in infrastructure forsolid-waste classification systems and regulations for suchclassification.
According to Mushtaq Ahmed Memon ofthe United Nations Environment Programme's International EnvironmentTechnology Centre, in most developed countries domestic and industrialwastes are categorised carefully and treated or recycled depending onwhether it is organic or inorganic.
Waste that cannot be recycled is incinerated at 950 – 1,000 degrees Celsius and the resultant ash buried safely.
Dr Khoa said the city should make environmental education mandatory toimprove citizens' awareness of protecting the environment by treatingwaste properly.-VNA
According to Vo Thanh Huynh Anh of theDepartment of Natural Resources and Environment, of the 72,000 tonnes ofwaste generated every day, around 60 percent are buried undergroundinstead of being appropriately classified and treated.
It is done by the HCM City Ltd. One Member Urban Environment andVietnam Waste Treatment Ltd. Company, both State-run utilities.
The rest is processed to make compost fertiliser by Vietstar, Tam Sinh Nghia, and Thanh Cong companies.
However, the compost plants are not operating efficiently, causing economic loss.
Dr Le Van Khoa of the HCM City Polytechnic University saidthe problem is that the city lacks technologies to classify waste beforetreatment.
Since 2004 the city has been running apilot programme to classify solid wastes before treatment in Districts1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, and Cu Chi and atwholesale markets.
But it has not proven effective since only 25 percent of the solid waste is classified before treatment.
The city lacks the funds required to invest in infrastructure forsolid-waste classification systems and regulations for suchclassification.
According to Mushtaq Ahmed Memon ofthe United Nations Environment Programme's International EnvironmentTechnology Centre, in most developed countries domestic and industrialwastes are categorised carefully and treated or recycled depending onwhether it is organic or inorganic.
Waste that cannot be recycled is incinerated at 950 – 1,000 degrees Celsius and the resultant ash buried safely.
Dr Khoa said the city should make environmental education mandatory toimprove citizens' awareness of protecting the environment by treatingwaste properly.-VNA
