The People’s Committee of southern Dong Thap Province has approved an investment of VND155 billion (US$7.2 million) for two projects to expand the capacity of two dumping sites.
The two landfills, in the Cao Lanh District and Sa Dec Township, are overflowing with waste and are causing serious pollution problems to the residents living near the waste sites.
A project to expand the capacity of the Dap Da waste site at an investment of VND88.5 billion (US$4.1 million) will be implemented across an area of 25 hectares in Cao Lanh District.
After the capacity expansion, the landfill will be able to handle 78 tonnes of domestic waste per day.
The second project, expanding the Sa Dec landfill in Sa Dec Township at an investment of VND66.5 billion ($3.1 million), also received approval from the committee. The project, which will raise the landfill’s capacity to 43 tonnes of domestic waste, 10 tonnes of hazardous waste and 13 tonnes of recycled waste, will be implemented across an area of 12.5 hectares.
In recent years, the two dumping sites have received vast quantities of waste. The Dap Da landfill, for instance, receives 113 tonnes of waste from Cao Lanh District every day on average; however, it has only two waste water reservoirs with a storage volume of 22,000 cubic metres. More importantly, it has no waste water treatment system.
As a result, some waste water has leaked into the Muong Trau and Thay Cat water channels, affecting hundreds of households in the My Tho Commune.
Nguyen Van E, resident in My Tho Commune’s Hamlet 4, said that he and other families use water from these water channels for their daily activities. However, the water has turned black because of the pollution, he added.
Doan Minh Tien, vice chairman of the commune’s People’s Committee, said regular tests on water samples taken from near the landfill by the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment showed that the water is sub-standard, he added.
In Sa Dec landfill, the situation is the same, although the landfill is equipped with a waste water treatment system that has a capacity of treating 250 cubic metres of water per day.
Tran Thi Thuy, deputy head of the Dong Thap City Water Supply and Urban Environment Company, told the Dong Thap newspaper that the company has taken measures to curb pollution, such as spraying pesticides to kill insects three times every day, as well as planting trees around the landfill.
