Effective environmental protection surveillance cameras in Thanh Liem

For a long time, cameras have been known for their role in monitoring security and order, and now Thanh Liem district has identified them as an effective solution to monitor behaviors that are harmful to the environment. Thanh Liem is currently the pioneer in the province directing communes and towns to install surveillance cameras at centralized waste collection sites to improve the effectiveness of environmental protection work in the area.

Since early July 2023, Thanh Thuy commune has installed solar-powered cameras at the commune's waste transfer point at a cost of more than 10 million VND. Mr. Vu Quy Viet, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, shared: Previously, the commune had to hire a resident to monitor the landfill to detect acts that harm the environment, such as littering in the wrong place, dumping garbage into the river, or illegally dumping industrial waste... When installing the camera, the commune placed a notice of regulations at the centralized waste transfer point with a notice of surveillance cameras; thereby, contributing to raising awareness among people and waste collection and transportation units. Waste is collected and gathered in a covered house, not thrown around, causing loss of aesthetics and environmental pollution; and is transported for treatment in accordance with regulations.

Effective environmental protection surveillance cameras in Thanh Liem — **Officials of Liem Son commune monitor and supervise the waste collection area through the camera system.**

The camera is connected to the phones of the commune leaders and environmental experts for easy monitoring. To ensure the camera operates effectively in the long term and reduces maintenance costs, Thanh Thuy chose to use solar power. Along with that, regular inspection and monitoring are required to detect and promptly handle incidents, ensuring the camera operates smoothly. The commune is also planning to install an additional camera at the landfill area to improve the effectiveness of environmental protection monitoring.

In Liem Son commune, the installation of surveillance cameras at the centralized landfill has been carried out since May 2023. Since then, the commune has detected and warned 2 cases of illegal dumping of industrial waste and requested remediation. This is a new model, so the commune will immediately increase propaganda and reminders so that people know and strictly follow the regulations on collecting and dumping garbage in the right place. The surveillance camera system is directly connected to the phones of commune leaders and the security camera monitoring system at the commune People's Committee headquarters. Therefore, with a stable internet connection, commune officials can observe and monitor daily activities at the landfill and surrounding areas, and review images from previous days when necessary.

Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Ha, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Liem Son Commune, said: Following the direction of the district, Liem Son Commune has invested in installing 2 cameras at the commune's centralized landfill with a total amount of 24 million VND. Not only detecting, reminding, and handling violations, we also monitor the transport unit in terms of time and volume, so the situation of waste congestion in the area has been greatly reduced, and people's awareness has also been raised... At the same time, the commune directs mass organizations and villages to actively propagate and mobilize people to classify waste at source, not to litter; direct garbage collection teams to collect waste according to regulations. Thanks to that, environmental work in the commune has many positive changes.

It is known that in Thanh Liem, 12/16 communes and towns have installed cameras to monitor environmental pollution and are considered effective. According to local people, along with the government's efforts to encourage people not to litter, since the cameras were installed, spontaneous garbage dumps have disappeared, and illegal dumping of waste has been significantly reduced.

Mr. Le Trung Kien, Deputy Head of the District Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said: Following the direction of the District People's Committee, the communes and towns in the area have planned 1-2 waste transfer points in each commune with roofs, surrounding walls, and drainage systems. The work of collecting, transporting, and treating waste, focusing on raising people's awareness in classifying and dumping waste in the right places, has been of interest to authorities at all levels from the district to the grassroots. However, the act of littering indiscriminately and in the wrong places often happens quickly and is difficult to detect, while the local inspection force is still limited. In addition, the transportation of waste from the collection sites in many localities in the district to the treatment site is also sometimes delayed, leading to waste backlog. This not only causes loss of aesthetics, but also makes the environmental pollution from the waste collection sites more serious. Therefore, using surveillance cameras to prevent and handle environmental violations is one of the effective solutions to deal with littering in the area, contributing to improving the living environment and helping to form good habits for people.

For monitoring to be truly effective, Thanh Liem district directs localities to regularly review all operations of camera systems installed at transfer sites and upgrade necessary infrastructure, such as computers, data transmission lines, etc. to ensure the system operates stably and continuously, serving the management and monitoring of household waste. The remaining 4 units have not installed surveillance cameras at waste collection sites, including Liem Tuc, Liem Thuan, Thanh Tan communes and Kien Khe town, and are expected to complete the installation by the end of 2023. The district also plans to support localities with part of the funding to implement this model; Thanh Liem district People's Committee also directs localities to regularly extract images from cameras in the area to promptly detect and handle violations according to regulations, increasing deterrence.

Thanh Liem's pioneering and leading in implementing the "environmental camera" model is very commendable and needs to be studied and evaluated for widespread implementation in the province in the coming time. Thereby contributing to reducing environmental pollution at waste collection sites, building a clean and beautiful environmental landscape, improving the effectiveness of environmental protection work in the locality. This is also one of the effective solutions to monitor units that collect and transport waste in accordance with regulations.

Hoang Hai

Source