Waste must be treated more effectively with advanced technology and categorised prior to treatment, city officials said at a meeting held in HCM City yesterday. — Photo baotintuc.vn

HCM CITY — Waste must be treated more effectively with advanced technology and categorised prior to treatment, city officials said at a meeting held in HCM City yesterday.

The city generates 8,300 tonnes of waste each day, most of which is not categorised, according to Dr Nguyễn Văn Phước, head of the HCM City’s Institute of Natural Resources and Environment.

Many privately owned vehicles are used to collect trash as there are an insufficient number of public garbage trucks to pick up all of the household rubbish.  

At least 22 public-service companies operating at the district level, as well as the HCM City Urban Environment One Member Ltd Company, collect waste for treatment, accounting for 40 per cent of the city’s waste-collecting companies.

The rest of the rubbish is collected by private companies which operate motorbikes that owners have modified by adding a small open carriage to carry garbage to city dumps. 

There are more than 1,000 such vehicles. Most of them do not meet safety and hygiene standards, and cause bad odours and pollution, according to Phước.  

When it rains, many of these vehicles are not properly covered, and, as a result, filthy water and garbage trickle out.

“The private vehicles collect waste from households and transport it to a designated spot from where public garbage trucks take it to rubbish treatment complexes,” he said.

Nguyễn Toàn Thắng, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the city faced many challenges in collecting and transporting the huge amount of household waste generated daily.

In the past, private vehicles collected garbage at night, but due to the increasing amount of waste, they now operate in the day as well, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Phước recommended that private vehicles operate at night only.

Most of the waste in HCM City is sent to the Đa Phước Waste Treatment complex in Bình Chánh District for treatment.

Experts said the city should have more than one waste-treatment facility and not rely solely on Đa Phước.

Most waste is buried, affecting the environment. Besides the stench, water leaks from landfills have also raised environmental concerns.

For instance, Đa Phước has created a health hazard and detracted from the investment environment of District 7, experts have said.

Huỳnh Minh Nhựt, director of the HCM City Urban Environment One Member Ltd Company, said the city should improve services by inviting bids to collect and treat waste.

Dr Lê Văn Khoa of the HCM City Polytechnic University said the city lacked technologies to classify waste prior to treatment. 

Since 2004, the city has been operating a pilot programme to classify solid waste before treatment at wholesale markets and in districts 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Bình Thạnh, Phú Nhuận and Củ Chi. 

But this has been ineffective as only 25 per cent of solid waste is classified. 

In most developed countries, domestic and industrial waste is carefully categorised and treated or recycled, depending on whether it is organic or inorganic, according to Phước.

He said the city should raise public awareness about the importance of treating waste properly and the impact of untreated waste on the environment.  — VNS