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Local residents are creating a temporary station to stop waste trucks from entering An Hiep Landfill |
Built nearly 10 years ago, An Hiep Landfill is 5ha wide and can accept 40 tonnes of solid waste a day. Since the middle of 2022, due to the closure of Ben Tre Waste Treatment Plant (sited in Huu Dinh Commune of Chau Thanh District), An Hiep Landfill has to receive an extra of 150 tonnes of waste per day from Ben Tre City and Chau Thanh District.
This overloading volume and a weak waterproof barrier system in the landfill have contributed to the spreading of foul smell and sewage on a large scale in the neighborhood. It has terribly affected the physical health of local residents, especially the elderly and children.
41-year-old Tran Van Phu, living in An Duc Commune nearby, complained that the rotten smell has become more horrible for the last year. The smell has been so unbearable that children in the neighborhood repeatedly suffer from vomiting and sickness. To make the matter worse, people have to eat their meal inside a mosquito net since flies are all around them. That is not to mention sewage leaking around non-stop. Peaceful sleep at night has become sleepless nights also owing to the filthy smell.
Despite the protest of inhabitants here to the commune-level then provincial-level authorities, no positive response can be seen. Many households have to temporarily move to their relatives or hire a place elsewhere as they can no longer stand the environment here. Some even tried to sell their land but to no avail.
Feeling so frustrated and annoyed, more than 100 households near An Hiep Landfill have established a temporary station to hang posters against the operation of the landfill and stop waste trucks from entering it. Sadly, these efforts seem to worsen the situation.
Vice Chairman of Ben Tre Province People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Canh has just signed a formal dispatch to announce an environment emergency at An Hiep Landfill because of its overloading status when accepting extra waste from Ben Tre City and Chau Thanh District, directly affecting the lives of 132 households nearby in the radius of 1 kilometer (the two communes of An Hiep and An Duc).
The Vice Chairman told SGGP Newspaper that all reports of local residents have been recorded, and that the provincial authorities have directed its Department of Natural Resources and Environment to urgently work with Ba Tri District People’s Committee and relevant state agencies to upgrade the facilities in the landfill. This project receives VND11 billion (US$465,000) and must be completed this year.
Another project with the allocated budget of VND15 billion ($634,000) will follow to expand the surface area of this landfill by 3ha, expected to finish in the first quarter of 2024. This will increase the capacity of the landfill until Ben Tre Waste Treatment Plant can resume its operation in 2025.
The Vice Chairman further informed that the province is planning to restructure the investment in Ben Tre be enlarged by 2ha to increase its waste processing capacity from 320 tonnes to 350 tonnes per day using modern technologies from the EU. It will accept waste from Ben Tre City and the districts of Chau Thanh, Giong Trom, Mo Cay Bac, Mo Cay Nam, and Cho Lach.
In the meantime, urgent solutions must be immediately adopted to improve the environment around An Hiep Landfill.
