LookAtVietnam – Concrete waste from building sites is being dumped along the Lang-Hoa Lac highway, west of Ha Noi, causing accidents on the expressway which is still under construction.

“Many drivers picked up for violations admitted they dumped their waste on the highway to save labour and time because the treatment points were too far away”.

“They have caused a number of accidents,” said Vuong Van Giai, leader of Team 2 of the city police.

Residents in the area said they often saw drivers dump their solid waste on the highway at night to avoid authorities.

The Lang-Hoa Lac Highway Management Unit was having to assign dozens of workers to keep traffic order and safety.

Construction waste dumping not only occurred along roads under construction, but also on outlying city streets, such as Le Van Luong, Hoang Quoc Viet, My Dinh and Buoi.

“We often go on patrol and strictly punish those who dump rubbish at wrong places,” said an officer from the Cau Giay District Traffic Police.

“However, waste lorry drivers often discharge their load in areas which are under construction or uninhabited to avoid police’s supervision,” he said.

The city has 185 lorries of less than 1.5 tonne transporting construction rubbish from more than 410 construction sites, but there are only 15 dumps in the city which does not meet requirements, according to the city Department of Transport.

“This year we will work with the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment and relevant bodies to set up more rubbish dumps in the city,” Ha Noi Environment Police deputy director Nguyen Viet Tien said.

“Many drivers picked up for violations admitted they dumped their waste on the highway to save labour and time because the treatment points were too far away.”

At present, all 15 rubbish dumps are in suburban districts of Ha Noi, such as Hoang Mai, Thanh Tri and Soc Son. They often let under-1.5-tonne lorries dump rubbish while most construction businesses use lorries 2.5-tonne and more to transport their rubbish, according to Tien.

City authorities also will strengthen waste management at its source, and ask construction firms to make their own rubbish disposal contracts with waste collecting enterprises.

Those who do not have contracts will be liable to strict punishment.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News