Reality have shown that these companies try to not only help nearby citizens commit to the cause, but also spearhead the movement and better handle their waste.
At Vinh Loc Industrial Park, where 158 companies and 20,000 workers are based, all personnel are instructed to separate solid waste at source, said the park’s spokesman. Domestic as well as classified hazardous waste are handled by professional services in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, they stated.
In charge of over 1,123km of rivers and canals in Cu Chi, HCMC Irrigation Service Exploit Management Co., Ltd. has been finding trash and wastewater in their sources for months.
In implementing Directive 19, the company required 6,000 households to pledge against disposing garbage and wastewater, as well as animal carcasses from farmyards, into irrigation works.
They also installed more warning signs, surveillance cameras, fences, and automatic garbage collectors. Staff members are encouraged to set an example within the company as well. Thanks to that, the city’s main East canal is capable of providing 180,000m³ of clean water per day to the nearby Kenh Dong ( East Canal) water plant.
According to public opinion, the new Directive was issued at the right time, but must be accompanied by stronger fines for violators.
A representative of HCMC Urban Drainage Co., Ltd. said that plastic waste and grease usually clogs up storm drains, especially near restaurants and hotels. Currently, the company has installed filters to the drains, but expressed that people’s awareness is crucial to long-term pollution prevention.
Meanwhile, the city each day is burdened with about 12,000 tons of domestic waste and 4,000 tons of industrial, hazardous, medical, and construction waste on average, said the director of HCMC Urban Environment Co., Ltd. Annual waste increase rate is also a whopping 10%.
Director of District 9 Public Services Co., Ltd. suggests that there should be local specialized forces to handle violations instead of giving the part to urban order management teams. More importantly, wages for sanitation workers must be improved via increased unit price for collecting garbage.
According to environmental experts, the city needs to consider long-term plans of merging public utility companies to better integrate garbage services all over the city. This will also help prevent unwarranted dumping sites.
