Waste is rampant in Can Tho: Strong and effective policy is needed

Establishing a legal framework and time frame

According to advice from experts, a modern city should first put the criteria for effective waste treatment first. There, people and local authorities have a civilized mindset on innovating a clean living environment.

For waste treatment, it is often combined with many advanced methods and technologies, but in general, it is necessary to aim to minimize negative impacts on the environment and human health. Accordingly, instead of relying only on landfill, modern cities must prioritize waste classification at source and recycling.

That is a long-term goal, and in the immediate future, Can Tho must implement garbage disposal at the right time and place. So that many people accidentally throw garbage regardless of the time frame is considered the core reason why the roads are always covered with garbage, affecting the urban beauty.

Talking to us, an environmental engineer working in Can Tho suggested: "The first solution to improve the aesthetics is to dump garbage on time, for example, there should be regulations to leave garbage at around 7:00 p.m., that is, after work and cooking. Environmental sanitation workers will collect garbage from now until 7:00 a.m. the next day. The solution helps ensure that there is no garbage congestion on the roads during the day".

Eliminate the psychology of being cautious and hesitant

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh - Vice Chairman of Ninh Kieu Ward People's Committee frankly admitted that in the past months, the ward has applied a form of fines for the act of leaving garbage in the wrong place, but the treatment process is still cautious and not drastic; ward-level officials do not have expertise in environmental fields, so their understanding is not high, currently the locality mainly only uses land officials.

Realizing the limitations, I think it is time to change thinking, eliminate the mentality of being hesitant and giving. In addition, there needs to be a specialized committee in this field to operate, thereby being more effective in applying sanctions" - Mr. Anh proposed.

Mr. Truong Minh Duc - Vice Chairman of Long Tuyen Ward People's Committee - said that based on the assigned tasks, in the coming time, the ward will closely monitor to promptly detect and have solutions to strictly handle violations of waste discharge in the wrong place.

However, according to Mr. Duc, to do this, it is necessary to have close coordination between relevant parties, while decentralizing and delegating authority appropriately, avoiding overlap and prolonging the processing time as before.

Building a comprehensive strategy

Regarding planning and infrastructure, experts say that Can Tho needs to ensure a safe distance from garbage collection points to residential areas, schools, hospitals and domestic water sources according to national technical standards on construction planning.

"With the increasing amount of waste, Can Tho needs to research and invest in building modern garbage transfer stations capable of compressing waste to reduce volume, optimize transportation to treatment plants, reduce costs and time" - the expert proposed.

According to the forecast, without more fundamental solutions for waste treatment, Can Tho, despite efforts on the path to becoming an ecological, civilized and modern city by 2030, will still have difficulty sustainable with the dream of building a green economy. Therefore, more than ever, to enhance the position of the central locality of the Mekong Delta, worthy of the status of a centrally-run city, Can Tho needs a more comprehensive and standard strategy in waste treatment. This requires a breakthrough decision from a visionary leader; do not be afraid to handle responsibility if individuals and groups have not fulfilled their assigned functions and tasks.