A vegetable garden in Thủ Đức City's Cát Lái Ward in HCM City, which used to be a rubbish dump. — Photo laodong.vn

HCM CITY —  Almost 900 unauthorised rubbish dumps have been cleaned up and 243 of them have been converted into parks and vegetable gardens, according to the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

According to the department's report, last year, the city had an additional 113 polluted sites caused by piles of garbage.

However, related units in the city cleared 136 polluted sites and turned 50 others into parks, vegetable gardens, and sports courts last year.

Since 2019, the city has warned nearly 17,900 violators of environmental protection regulations and fined over 26,000 others VNĐ37.8 billion (US$1.6 million).

Districts in the city have called on private enterprises and residents to monitor environmental hygiene and fund the installation of more than 4,800 surveillance cameras in 2022, taking the total cameras in the city to almost 45,400.

The Women’s Union of Cát Lái Ward in Thủ Đức City under HCM City recently coordinated with the HCM Communist Youth Union and residents in the ward to turn a 1,000-square-metre garbage dump into a vegetable garden.

Locals now can harvest about 400-500 kilograms of vegetables from the garden per month and provide them to kindergartens and households in the ward, said a representative of the Women’s Union of Cát Lái Ward.

Revenue from vegetable sales will be used to support disadvantaged households. — VNS