HCM City (VNS/VNA) — HCM City has reached 12 of its 16 targetsin its pollution reduction programme for the 2016-20 period,according to the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

With the largest population in the country, the city is the nation’seconomic locomotive but is facing many challenges,including pollution. About 1,300 factories in 18 industrial parks and3,000 small- and large-scale production establishments outside industrialparks operate in the city.

Despite this, the city had achieved positive changes in environmental protection activities,Nguyen Toan Thang, department director, said. 

Under the five-year programme, the city is focusing on preventing airpollution and managing air quality as well as surface water, groundwater and waste.

The city regularly dredges and collects waste, waterhyacinth and wild grass, helping clear the flow of water andimprove hygiene.

Authorities also strictly punish anyone who dumps rubbish inunauthorised areas such as sidewalks, roads or the drainage system.

The number of industrial establishments treating discharged wastewater hasincreased to 97 percent from 85 percent, with 99 percent of the totalvolume of wastewater treated.

Ninety-eight percent of industrial establishments invest in a gastreatment system or use clean fuels (electricity, Diesel Oil andcompressed natural gas). And all hospitals in the city have set up wastewatertreatment systems.

The rate of renewable energy usage has reached about 1.8 percent, morethan 0.06 percent in excess of the target for the period.

Software is also being used to keep track of violations concerning urbanorder, raising the rate of resolved complaints.

“Making people more aware of classifying garbage at source hasbeen one of the significant breakthroughs in this period,” Thang said.

Residents have reduced their use of plastic bags andchanged their habits by using more environmentally friendlyproducts.

The city has built and put into operation three new plants using advancedtechnologies that generate electricity from waste.

Solid waste collection, transportation and treatment have been done in atimely fashion, and have eliminated the waste backlog situation.

“Many pollution hot spots in the city have beenresolved completely,” Thang said.

The city has reduced 715 of the 747 waste backlog locations causingenvironmental pollution, reaching 95.7 percent of all of these areas.

It has also installed additional 34,000 rubbish bins and 28,000 surveillancecameras to detect violations relating to littering in public./.