Early treatment of waste backlog at Dong Thang landfill

People asked the authorities to soon take measures to reinforce the dike and limit wastewater from leaking out of the landfill.

Dong Thang Commune landfill has a total area of ​​over 6 hectares, including a solid waste treatment plant invested in and built by Minh Thong Trading Service Company Limited, with an area of ^{​​6,000m2} , capable of treating 150 tons of waste/day for O Mon, Thot Not districts and Co Do, Phong Dien, Vinh Thanh districts.

Currently, Dong Thang landfill has about 700,000 tons of untreated landfill waste. In addition, in early 2023, this landfill received an additional 11,000 tons of waste from Ninh Kieu district for temporary storage here. Although there have been measures to cover the area, the heavy stench and smoke from the incinerator spreading outside directly affect people's lives. It is worth mentioning that the landfill area is located close to the inner-field dike. During the rainy season, leachate from the landfill overflows into the fields and causes dike breaks, leading to serious environmental pollution.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Tinh in Thoi Hiep 2 hamlet said: “Dong Thang landfill has a surrounding dike, but every time it rains heavily, black water from the landfill leaks into the fields. The polluted water source causes the rice plants to become sick, causing high production costs, but the rice yield is not high compared to neighboring households. I recommend that the city's departments and functional agencies soon find a solution to fix the problem, helping people feel secure in their production.” According to people's feedback, the exposed "garbage mountains" at the landfill are also a favorable environment for rats and insects to breed, gnaw on rice fields, causing damage to producers.

Normally, people living near the Dong Thang landfill are affected by the stench of garbage and the burning smell from the incinerator that spreads into the environment. Especially on hot or windy days, the stench from the landfill can be seen for kilometers, making the entire residential area suffocated. Ms. LTTB, who lives near the Dong Thang landfill, complained: “Due to the large amount of untreated waste, the stench spreads, affecting the daily lives of people. Every day, I and many households here have to live with a very unpleasant stench. I request that the waste treatment unit take measures to cover and spray deodorant to limit the spread of stench into the surrounding environment.”

Previously, the National Assembly Delegation of Can Tho City had a monitoring session and requested the People's Committee of Co Do district to direct the specialized department to implement solutions to overcome environmental pollution at Dong Thang landfill. Accordingly, in the second quarter of 2024, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Co Do district coordinated with Minh Thong Trading Service Company Limited to complete the HDPE tarpaulin covering to prevent rainwater for 7 full landfill cells with an area of ​​over ^21,000m2 ; at the same time, the existing dike surface was raised from 2m to 3m, combined with the arrangement of additional waterproof partitions made of HDPE tarpaulin material 2m deep along the dike body to prevent garbage leakage to the surrounding area. Particularly, 11,000 tons of garbage received from Ninh Kieu district was submitted by the specialized department of Co Do district for budget appraisal and is expected to be covered with tarpaulin and reinforced in the second quarter of 2025.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Vu, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Co Do district, said: “Due to the upcoming rainy season, the locality will carry out construction to reinforce the dike around the landfill area to limit wastewater from seeping out. We propose that the City People's Committee soon have a plan to regulate waste at Dong Thang landfill, and have a plan to invest in building an additional modern solid waste treatment plant to thoroughly resolve the backlog situation.”

Article and photos: KV

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/som-xu-ly-rac-thai-ton-dong-tai-bai-rac-dong-thang-a186439.html