The proposal to increase the landfill capacity at Da Phuoc landfill from 24 to 41 million tons, nearly double the initial design, is to continue following the old path, instead of strongly shifting to a modern and sustainable waste treatment model.
In fact, Da Phuoc landfill has received about 31.5 million tons of waste, far exceeding the designed 24 million tons.
Burying is an easy solution but also the most outdated treatment. Each ton of garbage buried in the ground adds a burden to the environment and to future generations.
Leachate, methane gas, odor, water source pollution risk, air pollution... are the consequences that have been present for many years around the Da Phuoc area.
People in the south of the city have suffered many times because of the stench from the landfill.
It is worth mentioning that Ho Chi Minh City has repeatedly set a goal to reduce the landfill rate to about 20%, switching to waste burning for electricity generation and recycling, but that goal has not been achieved to date.
If Da Phuoc continues to increase capacity, the city will prolong its dependence on the model that many advanced cities in the world have abandoned.
A modern city cannot develop by expanding "garbage mountains". It is even more impossible to build a green, livable city image if landfill treatment is still maintained.
Da Phuoc is currently located at the southern gateway, near residential areas and many strategic traffic axes, continuing to expand landfills will create long-term pressure on urban space, living environment and economic development orientation in the South. Therefore, what needs to be done at this time is not to increase landfill capacity, but to accelerate the transformation of waste treatment technology.
Waste burning for electricity must become the main direction. This is not only a solution to treat the huge amount of waste, but also helps recover energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save land funds.
Of course, waste-to-energy cannot be successful without waste sorting at source. Waste is mixed, the efficiency of burning is reduced, costs increase, and modern technology is also difficult to promote.
Therefore, waste sorting must be implemented more drastically, synchronously and substantively. It is impossible to let the correct policy last for many years but still stop at the level of mobilization and encouragement.
In addition, the city needs to urgently invest in more high-tech waste treatment complexes according to integrated models, burning for electricity, recycling materials, treating organic waste, and recovering energy from old landfills.
This is the direction that is consistent with the circular economy trend and green growth.
Ho Chi Minh City cannot continue to bury garbage using old technology, and then unintentionally "bury" the goal of a green city.
