Constantly having to stop operations
In the early days of 2026, in the central wards of Thanh Hoa province such as Hac Thanh, Ham Rong, Dong Quang, Dong Son, Dong Tien, Nguyet Vien, Quang Phu, there was a situation of household waste accumulating and piling up on many roads.
The cause was later determined to be due to the sudden increase in garbage during Tet. Along with that, households in Hanh Phuc Doan village, Dong Quang ward prevented garbage trucks from entering the Southeast landfill area due to concerns about overload and pollution.
After many days of people preventing garbage trucks from entering the treatment area, thanks to the propaganda and mobilization of functional sectors and local authorities, people dismantled camps, not focusing on preventing garbage trucks. However, after that, the garbage treatment plant still could not receive more garbage due to the large amount of accumulated garbage.
Faced with the above situation, the Thanh Hoa Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment proposed that 7 central wards proactively contact and sign contracts with solid domestic waste treatment units inside and outside the province; and at the same time, divert and transport waste to other treatment areas to reduce the load on the Southeast domestic waste treatment plant, and soon resolve the amount of accumulated waste.
After many months of temporarily stopping receiving waste to treat the accumulated waste and overcome arising problems, by early April 2026, Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee allowed Ecotech Environmental Technology Investment and Development Joint Stock Company - the factory operator - to receive waste from central and surrounding wards.
However, the receipt of waste only takes place for a short time. By June 2026, this waste treatment plant will continue to have to stop receiving waste to handle problems arising during operation. After each time the plant stops receiving waste, in the central wards of Thanh Hoa province, a situation of waste congestion occurs in streets and residential areas for many days.
The thorny issue of waste
At the end of June 2026, although the waste treatment plant of Ecotech Environmental Technology Investment and Development Joint Stock Company is in the process of stopping receiving waste, people in Hanh Phuc Doan village, Dong Quang ward are still upset, gathering at the plant area at night to request this unit to immediately stop spreading odors to residential areas, affecting people's lives.
Talking to PV of Lao Dong Newspaper, many people in Hanh Phuc Doan village said that in recent months, because the waste treatment plant stopped receiving new waste, the stench temporarily subsided. However, in the last days of June 2026, the weather was harshly hot, while the plant continued to treat the previously accumulated waste, the stench spread to residential areas.
Representatives of the leaders of Dong Quang Ward People's Committee, Thanh Hoa province admitted that the problem of pollution and waste treatment at the Southeast landfill area has faced many difficulties in recent months. The landfill has been overloaded, and the waste treatment plant has continuously had to temporarily stop. Meanwhile, people living near the landfill area are often upset and react because of the stench generated from the waste treatment area.
Also according to a representative of Dong Quang Ward People's Committee, the waste treatment plant has stopped receiving new waste for many months to handle outstanding issues. In which, this unit has surrounded factories and treatment areas to limit the spread of odors. However, recently, due to hot weather, the plant temporarily opened factories for treatment and cleaning, causing odors to continue to spread to residential areas, causing people to be upset.
Representatives of Dong Quang Ward People's Committee also said that the issue of waste treatment at the Southeast landfill is quite difficult. Local authorities and functional sectors of the province have intervened many times, but so far there has been no definitive solution. The waste treatment plant here operates ineffectively; infrastructure and treatment technology are somewhat outdated, have not been invested and upgraded regularly, causing continuous operation to be affected.
To thoroughly solve the above situation, functional sectors and Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee need to soon get involved, comprehensively assess the operating status of the Southeast waste treatment area; and at the same time have fundamental and drastic solutions to ensure the living environment for people and limit waste congestion in the central area.
