Effectiveness of the coastal environmental sanitation project

(Baonghean) - Coastal communes have a small natural land area and a large population. The development of industries such as services, tourism, fishing, seafood processing... will cause environmental pollution, especially waste. Given the above situation, coastal communes of Quynh Luu district consider this a key task that needs to be carried out in the current period.

Fishermen from Son Hai - Quynh Luu prepare ice to preserve products for a long sea trip. Illustrative photo

Son Hai is a coastal commune of Quynh Luu district with over 2,500 households and nearly 13,000 people, but the natural land area is only 240 hectares. Not only is the land narrow and the population dense, the commune also has 41 large and small restaurants, 3 market centers selling different goods, and quite developed commercial services. Every day, dozens of tons of waste are discharged into the environment, while people's awareness is still limited. Previously, on the roads in residential areas and the main roads between communes, wherever people went, they encountered garbage scattered on both sides of the road. On hot days, the stench of garbage was strong. Unreasonable waste collection led to serious environmental pollution, affecting the health and quality of life of each family.

Faced with the above situation, the Son Hai Commune Party Committee issued a resolution on leading the implementation of the environmental protection project in the entire commune for the period 2012 - 2017 and received the consensus and high agreement of the majority of people. At the end of 2012, the commune government planned a concentrated waste landfill far from residential areas with an area of ​​1,200m2, with an investment cost of more than 1 billion VND. According to the resolution, the commune's project as well as the people's consensus on the fee for households with few people must pay 10,000 VND/month, 6-7 people the fee must be 25,000 VND/month, poor households and households in difficult circumstances are reduced by half. The locality has signed contracts with waste collection teams of each hamlet.

Garbage collection is carried out twice a day, 13 garbage collection teams from 13 villages simultaneously collect garbage on small roads, main roads and then gather it at the commune's garbage dump. Every week, there are trucks to transport it to the district's garbage dump in Ngoc Son commune. Along with that, the commune also strengthens propaganda work, raises people's awareness in environmental protection, coordinates with the commune police force to regularly patrol and strictly handle cases of indiscriminate dumping of waste on dikes, embankments and places that are not in accordance with regulations. Thanks to that, after a short time, people have raised their awareness, voluntarily classified and put waste in packaging, sacks placed in front of their houses to facilitate garbage collection.

Currently, not only Son Hai commune but also all coastal communes of Quynh Luu district have built and effectively implemented the waste collection project. Quynh Long commune is considered a coastal commune with many efforts in ensuring environmental sanitation. Previously, before implementing the project, garbage was seen everywhere on the roads and right next to the coast. Implementing the district's waste collection policy and project, in 2011, Quynh Long commune pioneered the implementation of a waste collection model with financial contributions from the people. After nearly 4 years of implementation, up to now, the collection of household waste has become routine.

Mr. Tran Quang Ve - Chairman of Quynh Long Commune People's Committee said: "The issue of collecting, transporting and treating household waste is one of the issues that the Party Committee and the commune government are particularly concerned about, and is also an urgent requirement of the people. To implement the district's household waste collection project, the Commune People's Committee has established a Steering Committee to implement the project, assigning members of the Steering Committee to go to residential areas to collect people's opinions; planning waste collection locations. Thanks to that, the implementation of the project has been effective, and the collection of household waste has become routine."

The implementation of the waste collection project in coastal communes of Quynh Luu district has shown positive results. This will solve the current environmental sanitation problem in rural areas. However, to truly promote the effectiveness of self-management groups, it is necessary to have the cooperation of organizations as well as the self-awareness of each citizen, gradually making environmental sanitation work the responsibility of the whole community.

Viet Hung - Hong Dien

Quynh Luu Radio and Television Station