An Hiep landfill incident (Vinh Long): More transfer stations and garbage collection points overloaded

On July 25, Mr. Le Van Vu, General Director of Ben Tre Urban Construction Joint Stock Company, said that during the time An Hiep landfill temporarily stopped receiving garbage, from July 21 to 24, the amount of household waste in communes and wards had filled up 11 transfer stations and 13 collection points, with a total amount of about 450 - 510 tons of garbage (average 150 - 170 tons/day). Some stations such as Phu Khuong and Son Dong ward were no longer able to receive garbage, forcing the unit to transfer the garbage to Phu Tan transfer station for temporary storage.

“The transfer stations are currently designed to only store garbage for the day before it is sent for treatment. If this situation continues beyond July 27, the entire transfer system will be overloaded and unable to accept more garbage,” Mr. Vu warned.

Transfer stations are currently only designed to store garbage for the day before being processed. If we wait until after July 27, there is a risk of overload.

According to Mr. Vu, most of the current garbage collection points are not properly covered and are located in the open on main roads. This not only reduces storage capacity but also causes garbage to decompose quickly, spreading bad odors, creating flies and the risk of wastewater leaking into the surrounding environment. At the same time, the garbage collection workers are also having to work in unsafe conditions, which can seriously affect their health.

rac 2.jpg — Current garbage collection points are not properly covered.

Previously, on the afternoon of July 21, dozens of residents of An Hiep and Ba Tri communes organized to block garbage trucks from entering An Hiep landfill. Residents reported that this landfill often emits foul odors, especially during the rainy season, seriously affecting their lives and activities. This is the third time that residents have organized to block garbage trucks, the previous two times were in July 2023 and July 2024.

On July 22, leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Provincial Police, the People's Committees of An Hiep and Ba Tri communes, and other departments held a dialogue with the people. Thereby, the people requested to fix the leachate leakage, prevent landslides on the wall of the An Hiep landfill area, ensure a safe distance between the landfill and residential areas, and at the same time request social security support and insurance for the affected people.

Representatives of the authorities and the landfill operator have committed to covering landfill ponds 11 and 12 with tarpaulins for 5 days to control odors. Once completed, representatives of the public will be invited to inspect the current situation before re-operating An Hiep landfill in accordance with environmental standards.

It is known that An Hiep landfill is located in an area with 132 households living within a radius of less than 1,000 meters, directly affected by waste treatment activities. Every rainy season, the foul smell and wastewater leakage frequently recur, causing frustration among residents and making it impossible for garbage trucks to access to dump the waste, leading to prolonged congestion.

Currently, Ben Tre Urban Construction Joint Stock Company has sent a document requesting the People's Committee of Vinh Long province, departments and An Hiep commune People's Committee to promptly handle the pollution, creating conditions for the transportation and treatment of waste to return to normal soon. If there are no timely measures, the risk of widespread environmental pollution is very high.

TIN HUY

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/vu-bai-rac-an-hiep-vinh-long-them-nhieu-tram-trung-chuyen-diem-tap-ket-rac-qua-tai-post805413.html