Tay Bac Waste Treatment Plant was put into operation in 2003 in Cu Chi District. The plant has applied waste-to-energy technologies. At present some 3,000 tonnes of waste are being treated daily at the site.
However, the activities of the plant have produced a huge amount of polluting smoke for many years.
A local resident, Nguyen Hanh, said that the plant used to burn waste at night but recently it operates all day, generating lots of dust and smoke.
"Our lives have been badly affected by serious environmental pollution caused by the bad odour, dust, and smoke coming from the plant," Hanh said. "Many surrounding rivers have turned black and died while lots of land have had to be abandoned due to contaminated soil."
In 2020, the plant was fined for failing to treat the waste properly, causing environmental pollution. But the situation has not improved as the plant has degraded and has been unable to deal with all the amount of waste it receives everyday.
The plant is only burning 2,000 tonnes of the 3,000 tonnes of waste sent daily to the plant, with the remainder being buried. Both the burial and burning activities are causing environmental pollution to the area.
