A waste treatment facility in Ha Tinh Province has been abandoned for not meeting the environmental standards set by the Ministry of Construction despite the huge amount of waste discharged daily.
Ha Tinh waste facility abandoned.
However, the incinerator was opposed by the local people because it was less than 500 metres away from a residential area and nearby water source. The incinerator operated for a month before it was shutdown.
According to the locals, they can't bear the foul smell coming from the site and their life has been badly affected. Some people said the incinerator was still too small to deal with the discharged waste in the area.
As a result, the incinerator and the site have been abandoned for a long time while the rubbish which had been dumped there has not been dealt with. Thai Son Vinh, head of Duc Tho Department of Natural Resources and Environment said about 12 tonnes of rubbish was discharged each day. Up to 2,000-3,000 tonnes of rubbish has been left in idle at Phuong Thanh Dumping Site.
In order to deal with the rubbish, the authorities in Duc Tho District signed contracts with waste treatment companies in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces to take the rubbish away. However, the cost to deal with a tonne of rubbish is as high as VND1.4m. Moreover, it is difficult to find trucks to transport rubbish.
"In the long term, we are calling for funds to build a waste-to-energy plant in Hong Linh Commune. We have asked to remove the incinerator," Vinh said.