Hanoi’s garbage men may have nowhere to go next year. Nam Son, the city’s largest dump, is estimated to be full to capacity by 2012. Other small dumps will be unable to share the load.
Saturday, April 30. 2011
Buried in garbage
Hanoi’s garbage men may have nowhere to go next year. Nam Son, the city’s largest dump, is estimated to be full to capacity by 2012. Other small dumps will be unable to share the load.
The capital’s dumps are filling to capacity fast. Current efforts to expand the city’s waste disposal options have proven costly, sluggish and unpopular among residents and experts alike.
Every day, Hanoi produces about 6,000 tons of garbage, of which 5,500 tons are sent to Nam Son Dump, an area of more than 83 hectares (205 acres) in the northern outskirts of Soc Son District.
Nam Son Dump opened in 2000 and was expected to serve as the city’s major dump site for the next 25 to 30 years. But the city designed the site to take in an average of 3,500 tons of rubbish per day. The dump may have to close, by the end of this year, if they do not expand it. Only 8.4 hectares (20.7 acres)—or around 10 percent of the total site—is available for garbage disposal.
Seven of the nine sectors here are already full. At one of the other two [open sectors], the garbage pile has risen to 35 meters (115 feet) and will be full at 39 meters (128 feet).
An increasing number of trucks heading to and from the site (carrying heavier loads) have caused backups of late. It’s hard to believe that you could get stuck in a gridlock on the outskirts of Hanoi, so far from downtown, but that’s what happening.
A plan to expand existing dumps was criticized as a costly and environmentally unsound.
A project to widen Nam Son and Xuan Son dumps is expected to finish in 2012.
According to an environmental expert in Hanoi, relying on landfills for waste disposal is not sustainable or cost effective.
It cost VND5 billion ($239,180) to build a five-hectare (12.3-acre) dump site. The construction of such dumps requires thorough assessment of the environmental impact.
The site was carefully constructed with potential environmental impacts in mind. The site is built atop layers of geotechnical fabric, clay, sand and soil all of which are designed to mitigate contamination of the water table. Runoff from the dump is being treated at an onsite facility.
Despite the measures, residents living near the site have complained of serious pollution.
Nearly 100 households near the site asked the local authorities to buy their land for the expansion of the dump and relocate them, but their requests have been rejected.
Every day, Hanoi produces about 6,000 tons of garbage, of which 5,500 tons are sent to Nam Son Dump, an area of more than 83 hectares (205 acres) in the northern outskirts of Soc Son District.
Nam Son Dump opened in 2000 and was expected to serve as the city’s major dump site for the next 25 to 30 years. But the city designed the site to take in an average of 3,500 tons of rubbish per day. The dump may have to close, by the end of this year, if they do not expand it. Only 8.4 hectares (20.7 acres)—or around 10 percent of the total site—is available for garbage disposal.
Seven of the nine sectors here are already full. At one of the other two [open sectors], the garbage pile has risen to 35 meters (115 feet) and will be full at 39 meters (128 feet).
An increasing number of trucks heading to and from the site (carrying heavier loads) have caused backups of late. It’s hard to believe that you could get stuck in a gridlock on the outskirts of Hanoi, so far from downtown, but that’s what happening.
A plan to expand existing dumps was criticized as a costly and environmentally unsound.
A project to widen Nam Son and Xuan Son dumps is expected to finish in 2012.
According to an environmental expert in Hanoi, relying on landfills for waste disposal is not sustainable or cost effective.
It cost VND5 billion ($239,180) to build a five-hectare (12.3-acre) dump site. The construction of such dumps requires thorough assessment of the environmental impact.
The site was carefully constructed with potential environmental impacts in mind. The site is built atop layers of geotechnical fabric, clay, sand and soil all of which are designed to mitigate contamination of the water table. Runoff from the dump is being treated at an onsite facility.
Despite the measures, residents living near the site have complained of serious pollution.
Nearly 100 households near the site asked the local authorities to buy their land for the expansion of the dump and relocate them, but their requests have been rejected.
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