Pollution surrounds residential areas
In early June, present in Xoan village (Dinh Van Lam Ha commune), reporters recorded an open landfill of about 2.3ha located only about 200m from Provincial Road 725.
Every day, the landfill receives about 45 tons of domestic waste from 6 communes in the old Lam Ha district. Although it has been overloaded for a long time, it continues to receive a large amount of waste generated daily.
What is worrying is that for many months, the landfill has been continuously smoldering. Columns of white smoke are rising from the piles of garbage, spreading to the surrounding area. The stench and burning smell spread for many kilometers, affecting people's lives and production.
Mr. Le Hoang Quan, a local resident, said that the landfill has been overloaded for a long time but has not been thoroughly treated. Smoke and stench appear day and night, disrupting people's lives.
My family only gardens nearby but cannot stand the stench. Smoke from the landfill is dense, crops grow poorly, and people always live in suffocation," Mr. Quan said.
Similarly, Mr. Pham Minh Tuan said that his family often has to close the doors because of the stench and smoke from the landfill.
The first rains of the season caused more smoke to rise. This situation has lasted too long, greatly affecting people's health," Mr. Tuan reflected.
According to the domestic waste treatment process, waste after collection must be treated with lime powder, chemicals and biological products before landfill.
Open-air waste burning is not allowed because it generates toxic emissions, causing environmental pollution.
Currently, the smoke and odor from the landfill are affecting hundreds of households in Xoan, Tan Tien, Doan Ket, Gia Thanh, An Lac and Kim Phat villages (Dinh Van Lam Ha commune).
Need to soon remove bottlenecks in waste treatment
Talking to reporters, Mr. Hoang Viet Lam - Chairman of Dinh Van Lam Ha Commune People's Committee confirmed that the local centralized landfill is no longer capable of receiving the amount of waste generated from communes in the area.
According to Mr. Lam, the landfill was put into use more than 20 years ago but has not been fully invested in environmental protection items such as bottom lining, wall lining or leachate treatment system.
After more than 20 years of operation, the amount of accumulated waste has reached tens of thousands of tons. Meanwhile, the amount of domestic waste generated is increasing, causing difficulties in collection and treatment. People's complaints about pollution have existed for many years," Mr. Lam shared.
To solve this situation, in March 2026, the locality approved the construction plan of the Solid Waste Recycling, Treatment and Energy Recovery Zone invested by Lam Ha Environment Co., Ltd.
However, to date, the project has not been able to be implemented because the enterprise has not completed the related procedures, including the environmental permit.
According to the People's Committee of Dinh Van Lam Ha commune, the locality has repeatedly urged businesses to accelerate progress but there has been no clear change.
When phase 1 is completed, the project is expected to treat about 50 tons of waste per day. However, with the current progress, putting the factory into operation still faces many obstacles.
The locality has reported to relevant departments and agencies, requesting the investor to complete the dossier to put the project into operation in June. If the enterprise does not implement it, it will propose to competent authorities to consider terminating the project and selecting another more capable investor," Mr. Hoang Viet Lam said.
