QUẢNG NGÃI — The People’s Committee of central Quảng Ngãi Province has urged Quảng Ngãi City authorities to take measures to quickly handle 1,500 tonnes of garbage left in the inner city over the past six days.

The request was made at an urgent meeting between the committee and relevant authorities yesterday. Trash was seen piling up after residents living near Nghĩa Kỳ landfill in Nghĩa Kỳ Commune blocked garbage trucks from entering the site since July 6.

Nguyễn Tăng Bính, deputy chairman of the committee, said that the garbage would be sent to Đồng Nà landfill in Tịnh Thiện Commune, ten kilometres from the central city, instead of the landfills in Đức Phổ and Bình Sơn districts as planned.

Bính said sending garbage to the two districts could easily cause more problems as they would not be able to handle the large amount, leading to protests by local residents over possible pollution.

He urged the city’s People’s Committee to promptly collect garbage piling up so as to minimise pollution and possible effects on residents.

Bính said he hoped people living near Đồng Nà landfill would share their difficulties with the province, and urged people to classify garbage at home to reduce pollution from domestic rubbish.

The provincial committee would report the situation to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to ask for permission to re-open Đồng Na landfill. It would also develop plans to deal with the garbage that has been left in the city over the last several days.

Bính affirmed that moving the refuse was a temporary solution. Nghĩa Kỳ landfill in Nghĩa Kỳ Commune was responsible for the storage and treatment of rubbish in Quảng Ngãi City and surrounding districts of Tư Nghĩa, Sơn Tịnh and Nghĩa Hành. 

The province would hold talks with residents to solve all their complaints about the pollution caused by the landfill. In terms of waste treatment, the province would ask local authorities to publicise the permitted distance between the dumping site and residential areas. The province would not approve any project likely to cause environmental pollution in Nghĩa Kỳ Commune.

In addition, the province required the North Investment and Development Construction JSC to strictly follow the construction progress of a waste treatment plant as planned. The company would have its investment licence revoked if it failed to complete the construction of the plant before September 30.

At the meeting, vice chairwoman of Tư Nghĩa District’s People’s Committee Nguyễn Thị Phương Lan said that residents living near Nghĩa Kỳ landfill had suffered horrible odours for years and had reported pollution to local authorities many times, but witnessed no improvement.

Phạm Tấn Hoàng, chairman of the Quảng Ngãi City's People’s Committee, said that about 250 tonnes of garbage was discharged each day. In the meantime, Đồng Na landfill could only handle that amount of garbage for the next 20 days.

Authorised agencies need to work together to come up with long-term solutions for refuse in the city, he added. 

On June 10, talks were held between provincial authorities and local residents to address pollution at Nghĩa Kỳ landfill after local people blocked garbage trucks from entering the dumping site. However, local people were not satisfied with the temporary solutions offered by the province. — VNS