A worker from the Hà Nội Urban Environment One Member Co Ltd collects garbage on Nguyễn Lương Bằng Street in Đống Đa District, Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

HÀ NỘI — Waste treatment enterprises in Hà Nội are suffering losses and are at risk of bankruptcy due to high petrol and oil prices, not only putting their businesses in jeopardy but creating the risk of waste not being collected.

In Hà Nội, dozens of firms participate in collecting and treating waste, including both state and private ones.

To be allowed to operate in the field, enterprises must meet requirements on capacity, facilities and vehicles. They must go through bidding to select contractors capable of performing the work.

But, at present, those enterprises are suffering losses and are at risk of bankruptcy due to high fuel prices.

Environmental enterprises, when winning the bid, all express their determination to keep their areas clean and beautiful.

But in recent days, rubbish has been piling up on many streets in Hà Nội and causing pollution. The cause is high petrol and oil high prices.

Ngô Bá Quang, deputy director of the Hà Nội Solid Waste Treatment and Environmental Development Joint Stock Company, which collects and treats waste in Bắc Từ Liêm and Tây Hồ districts, said that the city authority had not compensated for the wage disparity in the period 2017-20 and offset fuel price disparity from 2021 up to now, causing the company to encounter many financial difficulties.

It had been forced to delay wages for employees, and could not pay tax and social insurance.

Furthermore, the firm's equipment could not be repaired or maintained on time.

Sharing the same thoughts, Nguyễn Văn Thụy, deputy director of the Thanh Trì Environmental Company, which collects garbage in Hoàng Mai and Thanh Trì districts, lamented that workers’ lives were very difficult because the company had to cut some expenses to offset the loss of about VNĐ34 million (US$1,400) per day, equivalent to more than VNĐ1 billion ($42,600) per month, because of the petrol price increase.

Deputy director of the Xuân Mai Urban Environment Company Vũ Công Minh analysed that on July 6, RON 95 petrol price was VNĐ32,760 ($1.40) per litre and diesel oil price was VNĐ29,610 ($1.30) per litre. But the Hà Nội People’s Committee’s Decision No 453/QĐ-UBND issued on January 21 this year regulated that petrol price in the city's bidding package is VNĐ16,802 ($0.70) per litre, and oil price is VNĐ13,890 ($0.60) per litre.

If enterprises were not supported in time, they would meet many financial difficulties, he said.

Facing the problem, on May 20, representatives of environmental enterprises in Hà Nội sent a letter to the municipal people’s committee.

Finding measures

Sharing difficulties with environmental enterprises, Nguyễn Văn Liên, chairman of the Việt Nam Urban Environment Association, said that in many localities across the country, environmental enterprises were also calling for help due to petrol price increase, while the management agency had not adjusted.

Article 20 of the Law on Price 2012 regulates that the State ensures that the actual cost of production and business is covered, and profits are suitable with market value level and the State's socio-economic development guidelines and policies in each period. The State promptly adjusts prices when the price-forming factors change.

The Hà Nội People’s Committee’s Decision 453/QĐ-UBND issued on January 21 this year says that when the State promulgates regimes, policies or there are major fluctuations in costs leading to price changes, concerned departments managing environmental sanitation in the city will assume the prime responsibility for reviewing and reporting to the Department of Finance for appraisal and then submit to the municipal people's committee for consideration and adjustment.

“The guiding documents are clear so why have concerned departments not properly performed their work to support enterprises? If the enterprises are ignored, when they are out of breath, who will collect and treat the waste for the city?” Liên asked.

On June 23, leaders of the Hà Nội Urban Environment One Member Co Ltd sent a letter to the municipal Department of Construction, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, to temporarily stop receiving garbage at the Xuân Sơn garbage dump in Sơn Tây Town, Ba Vì District.

The reason was that the amount of wastewater generated at the dump is about 700-800 cubic metres per day, while the only wastewater treatment station stopped working at the beginning of June. This leads to untreated wastewater; the amount of wastewater stored in the lake as of June 23 was 70,152cu.m.

The problem is alarming and needs corporations from different organisations and branches to resolve it. — VNS