Look At Vietnam – Quality of life in HCM City has worsened because people improperly dispose of garbage and waste products, the city’s environmental authorities have said.

Many places throughout the city are full of rubbish.

A person living along District 6’s Hang Bang Canal said that the area had become a public rubbish dump for nearby residents.

Markets, especially unplanned temporary ones, were always filled with plastic bags, and rotting produce after they close, said a resident from Binh Tan District.

Huynh Huy Tue, an official with the Japanese non-governmental organisation Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), remarked that while many people kept their houses tidy, they littered in the streets and other public places.

People do not care when they see someone else littering, according to Nguyen Trung Viet, head of the HCM City Natural Resources and Environment Department’s Solid Waste Management Office.

Phan Van Rac, chairman of Binh Tan District’s People’s Committee, said that littering had many adverse effects, including causing mosquitoes and rats to multiply.

He added that the local authorities and relevant agencies had organised many campaigns to pick up rubbish and minimize littering since the middle of last year, but rubbish still reappeared everywhere.

“Currently, we are planning canal dredging projects and encourage people not to release rubbish into canals. We will impose heavy fines on those who litter in public places,” he said.

According to Tue, campaigns to improve people’s awareness in environmental protection organised by the city had not been effective.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News