Statistics from Can Tho City People's Committee show that there are currently 29 open landfills operating in the area, with a scale of about 1-2ha, distributed in communes and wards of Soc Trang province (old). The amount of garbage collected is about 157 tons/day, while the total amount of accumulated garbage is estimated at about 100,000 tons.
Notably, many old landfills, although they have stopped operating, still contain a very large amount of waste. Landfill No. 8 in Cai Rang district (old) has an area of about 42,943m2, with an estimated waste volume of 400,000 tons. The solid waste treatment area in O Mon district (old) is about 47ha wide, with about 41,000 tons of waste remaining.
At the solid waste treatment area of Dong Thang commune (old Co Do district), an area of about 6.02ha, estimated at about 700,000 tons of waste, is buried in 11 storage cells with a total area of about 18,000m2. The landfill in Trung Kien commune (old Thot Not district), an area of about 17,000m2, still has about 60,000 tons of waste.
According to the People's Committee of Can Tho City, the amount of long-term buried waste combined with weak soil makes these areas potentially prone to landslides, especially when there is heavy rain. Along with that, leachate, odors and pollutants can affect the environment and surrounding residential areas.
In some localities, landfills have also been closed or stopped receiving. Long My landfill stopped receiving from March 2025, with an area of 16,849m2, the amount of accumulated waste is about 60,000 tons. Tan Tien landfill stopped operating from June 2019, leaving about 30,674 tons of waste. Notably, Tan Long landfill stopped receiving from December 2013, but the estimated amount of waste still reaches 1,281,250 tons on an area of more than 20ha.
Hoa An temporary landfill has also stopped receiving garbage since March 2025. The landfill has an area of about 50,000m2, and the amount of accumulated waste is estimated at 275,000 tons.
To limit the risk of pollution, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is coordinating and guiding local authorities to implement management and prevention plans. Some temporary solutions are being implemented such as covering tarpaulins to limit rainwater seeping into landfills, spraying biological products and periodic annual environmental monitoring.
According to statistics, the total volume of solid domestic waste collected and treated in Can Tho City is about 1,200-1,712.95 tons/day. The collection and treatment rate in urban areas reaches 96.76%. However, thoroughly treating the amount of waste accumulated at old landfills is still an issue that needs attention to reduce the risk of pollution and ensure environmental safety.
According to the report on solid domestic waste management, Mr. Tran Chi Hung - Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee said that in the immediate future, the city will allocate budget to develop a comprehensive project to solve pollution, renovate, close and restore the environment for long-standing landfills that have stopped receiving waste and open landfills.
In addition, technical measures will also be strengthened to prevent embankment erosion at landfills, and at the same time strictly control leachate, not allowing it to spill into the surrounding environment.
In addition, Can Tho City plans to allocate funds to build a digital database, form a synchronous data system on waste sources and solid waste management from commune to city levels. This system will be shared and interconnected with the national environmental database, thereby contributing to improving the efficiency of solid waste management and monitoring in the area.
