Solving the problem of domestic solid waste treatment

Every day, Dong Nai province generates nearly 2.7 thousand tons of domestic solid waste (SWM), of which 78.8% is collected and treated according to regulations, the rest is not. With the goal of bringing the collection and treatment rate of SWM to 97% by 2030, the Party Committee, local authorities, people as well as functional agencies of Dong Nai province are making efforts to find many solutions to solve this problem.

Temporary landfill in Thong Nhat village, Dak Nhau commune, Dong Nai province. Photo: Vu Thuyen

Suffering from garbage

Along provincial road 760, about 500m from the intersection of Bom Bo commune, Dong Nai province, is a temporary landfill that has existed for decades. It is worth mentioning that the landfill is located right in the middle, with households living on both sides, causing serious environmental pollution. Not only the bad smell, but flies and dust also attack, forcing many households to close their doors day and night. This problem has been reported and petitioned to authorities and functional agencies many times by people and voters, but has not been resolved yet.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Duy Long (residing in village 8, Bom Bo commune) whose house is near the landfill reported: Because the landfill is located above, along with people's awareness of not disposing of garbage properly, during the rainy season, garbage overflows onto the street, flows into the drainage ditch, causing unsightliness and environmental pollution. Besides, during the dry season, garbage is burned to reduce the load, so the smoldering smoke forces people to close their doors to block out the smoke, dust, bad smell and flies.

Also located along provincial road 760, due to the lack of a centralized landfill, for many years, Dak Nhau commune has had to use a temporary landfill in Thong Nhat village as a gathering place. Similar to Bom Bo, the temporary landfill in Dak Nhau commune is also located in a densely populated area, next to many businesses and shops, causing serious environmental pollution and affecting the quality of life of the people.

Temporary landfills in Bom Bo and Dak Nhau communes are just two of many temporary landfills currently existing in the former Binh Phuoc province. This has been a concern and worry for local leaders over the years, but has not yet been completely resolved.

Chairman of Dak Nhau Commune People's Committee To Hoai Nam said: Before the merger, because there was no centralized landfill, the old Dak Nhau commune used the landfill in Thong Nhat village as a gathering place. Over time, the temporary landfill has lost its beauty and affected the living environment of the surrounding people. Determining its importance to the living environment, the Dak Nhau Commune Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term determined to "close" this landfill. That is, planning a 2-hectare centralized landfill and has completed the compensation and site clearance work. The new landfill is 7km from the commune's administrative center, and the roads are difficult to travel, so collection and transportation are more or less affected. However, the commune will call for socialization of collection, transportation, and treatment in raw form and strive to "close" the temporary landfill by the end of 2025.

With limited processing capacity, while the pressure of increasing waste is increasingly great, to ensure that the treatment of domestic waste is maintained stably, avoiding congestion that affects the environment and urban aesthetics, the company has sent a document requesting the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Environment to consider, coordinate and allocate the daily volume of domestic waste from some localities to other treatment areas in the province with treatment functions and suitable transportation distances, in order to reduce the pressure on Quang Trung Waste Treatment Area.

Mr. TRAN ANH DUNG, General Director of Sonadezi Service Joint Stock Company, investor of Quang Trung Waste Treatment Area.

Many limitations and shortcomings

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Tran Trong Toan said: Solid waste generated in the province is collected, transported and brought to 5 treatment areas according to regulations (4 treatment areas in the old Dong Nai province, 1 treatment area in the old Binh Phuoc province). Treatment technologies have been assessed and licensed by competent authorities using the following methods: compost (68%), compost combined with incineration (10%), incineration (5%) and sanitary landfill (17%). Waste management has achieved many positive results in recent times, especially in increasing collection rates and reducing landfills.

However, after the merger of the provinces, the management of solid waste still has limitations. That is, the treatment area is unevenly distributed between the two former areas of Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai. In the old Binh Phuoc province, there was only one treatment area with a capacity of 100 tons/day, but it is in the process of being relocated from the urban area. Along with that, the technical infrastructure serving the classification, collection, transportation and treatment of solid waste has not been invested synchronously and has not met the volume of waste generated, leading to the formation of 22 temporary landfills with a total estimated amount of waste of about 350 thousand tons, potentially causing environmental pollution.

The system, network, and means of collecting classified solid waste have not been deployed in some remote, isolated, and border areas due to low population density; meanwhile, people self-classify and self-treat waste not in accordance with the instructions. In addition, Dong Nai has not yet issued the maximum price for treating solid waste in 2025 in the province as a basis for bidding on waste treatment.

Workers sort garbage at Quang Trung Waste Treatment Area, Gia Kiem Commune, Dong Nai Province.

Synchronize multiple solutions

According to Mr. Tran Trong Toan, to overcome the above limitations, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has been advising on the synchronous implementation of many solutions in classifying, collecting, transporting, and treating solid waste in accordance with legal regulations and in accordance with actual conditions in the locality after the merger. Accordingly, advising on the issuance of maximum prices for solid waste treatment, specific prices for agencies, organizations, production, business, service establishments, production areas, households, individuals, etc. as a basis for localities to implement.

The Department continues to request the People's Committees of communes and wards to effectively manage solid waste according to the contents assigned by the Provincial People's Committee. In particular, research and apply models of processing food waste into organic fertilizer, processing food waste with IMO microbial yeast, composting, recovering biomass energy (biogas) by households, household clusters, and residential areas; models of classifying and collecting waste that can be reused and recycled to meet environmental protection requirements according to regulations. Communes and wards must be proactive in managing solid waste in their localities. At the same time, coordinate with local collection units to review collection plans from households, ensuring that solid waste is not collected from production and business establishments with a volume of more than 300kg/day according to regulations.

Also according to Mr. Tran Trong Toan, due to changes in administrative boundaries, it is necessary to update and supplement the Provincial Planning, including the planning of waste treatment infrastructure (including treatment areas, transfer points, etc.). Speed ​​up the progress of investment, construction, and putting into operation 4 waste-to-energy plants from now until 2030; in which, the focus will be on quickly implementing the investment project of a waste-to-energy plant in Tan Hung commune (formerly Binh Phuoc province) to serve waste treatment in the area; renovate and build new waste transfer points. At the same time, pilot the plan of "collecting waste fees according to the amount generated", thereby evaluating and serving as a basis for unified implementation throughout the province.

The results and future orientations show the great efforts of the province, businesses and people of Dong Nai in waste management, towards the goal of sustainable development and environmental protection.

Vu Thuyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202511/giai-bai-toan-xu-ly-chat-thai-ran-sinh-hoat-75820af/