Early treatment of landfills causing environmental pollution in Lam Dong

Photo caption — Dak Mil district landfill (old), now in Thuan An commune, Lam Dong province.

The old Dak Mil district landfill, located along National Highway 14C in the administrative boundary of Thuan An border commune, Lam Dong province, is a large landfill, located right on the roadside with a strong stench, causing serious and persistent environmental pollution.

According to the People's Committee of Thuan An Commune, this is the garbage dump of Dak Mil District, Dak Nong Province (old), now Duc Lap, Dak Mil, Thuan An, Dak Sak Communes, Lam Dong Province. Garbage here is gathered and piled up to decompose and self-destruct. Therefore, in the rainy season, leachate flows into people's land and fields. In the dry season, almost every year the garbage dump smolders for months, with smoke and dust everywhere.

According to the People's Committee of Thuan An Commune, the landfill is nearly 3 hectares wide and has been in operation since 2011. Currently, the overload and environmental pollution are making people angry. In particular, burning garbage in the dry season causes smoke and dust, seriously affecting the lives and production of dozens of households with adjacent land and fields.

Similarly, in Kien Duc commune, Lam Dong province, the old Dak R'lap district landfill is also one of the "black spots" causing environmental pollution. On an area of only nearly 1 hectare, every day this place receives 15 - 20 tons of garbage from communes in Dak R'lap district, old Dak Nong province (now Kien Duc, Quang Tin, Nhan Co communes, Lam Dong province). Due to prolonged overload, garbage is dumped everywhere and often burned outdoors, causing black smoke and a strong stench.

According to local authorities, Kien Duc landfill has no waste treatment system, sorting area or factory, and leachate overflows into the environment. During the rainy season, waste easily flows into residential streets, causing traffic obstruction and posing a risk of disease outbreaks. This pollution has lasted for many years but has not been completely resolved.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lam Dong, these are two establishments causing serious environmental pollution in Lam Dong province (formerly Dak Nong) that need to be handled before 2020 according to Decision No. 1788/QD-TTg dated October 1, 2013 of the Prime Minister approving the plan to thoroughly handle establishments causing serious environmental pollution by 2020.

Accordingly, relevant functional sectors and local authorities must close these landfills to build sanitary landfills and take measures to thoroughly handle environmental pollution before 2020. However, up to now, these landfills continue to be places to collect and treat waste, causing persistent environmental pollution.

Also according to Decision No. 1788/QD-TTg, Lam Dong province has 37 establishments causing serious environmental pollution that must be thoroughly handled before 2020. Of these, 19 establishments are located in Binh Thuan province (old), 16 establishments are in Dak Nong province (old) and 2 establishments are in Lam Dong area (old). These establishments are mainly hospitals, landfills and livestock farms...

According to the latest review by the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lam Dong, the whole province still has 9/37 establishments in the list of causing serious environmental pollution. Of these, there are 7 establishments in the western region of Lam Dong province (belonging to the old Dak Nong province), including: Dak R'lap landfill, Dak Glong, Dak Song, Cu Jut, Dak Mil, Tuy Duc and the paper chopsticks factory of Gia Nghia Company Limited in BMC industrial cluster (Bac Gia Nghia ward, Lam Dong province). The remaining 2 establishments causing environmental pollution in the Phan Thiet area are Binh Tu landfill and the seafood processing area south of Phan Thiet fishing port.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lam Dong, polluting establishments have basically had specific plans to thoroughly handle the situation, but the progress of waste treatment projects is quite slow, not meeting actual requirements. In particular, the Dak R'lap district landfill is under construction and has completed 60% of the volume, expected to be handed over and put into use by the end of the year. For the remaining landfills, the authorities have also planned to close and transport waste to other landfills for treatment, in order to limit environmental pollution.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment said that, in the immediate future, the Department requires localities to take temporary measures such as using chemicals, spraying biological waste, collecting waste, etc. to limit environmental pollution and limit negative impacts on people's health. Lam Dong province's functional agencies are also continuing to call for investment in waste treatment projects in accordance with approved planning.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/som-xu-ly-cac-bai-rac-gay-o-nhiem-moi-truong-tai-lam-dong-20251010105036048.htm