A STUDY ON THE GENERATION AND COMPOSITION OF SOLID WASTES IN CHO MOI DISTRICT, AN GIANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the current situation of generation and composition of domestic solid waste in Cho Moi town, Cho Moi district, An Giang province, Vietnam. The current status of generation and composition of solid waste was evaluated through the placement of garbage bags in households in rural and urban areas. Current management status was assessed by direct interviews with the households. The research results showed that the solid waste generated in the rural and urban areas of the whole town was about 8.5 tons/day, the collection rate was only 60.5% of the total solid wastes generated. The average amount of waste generated in rural areas was 0.31 kg/person/day and in urban areas was 0.44 kg/person/day. In the composition of classified domestic solid wastes, the organic composition in rural areas was slightly higher (82.3%) than that in urban areas (80.6%). The proportion of nylon in urban areas (10.1%) was higher than that in rural areas (6.78%). The remaining compositions had a low percentage, ranging from 0.04-7%. The interview results showed that only 70% of the respondents agreed to place their garbage in the waste bins for the collection while 30% of the respondents chose to burn or directly release the wastes into the environments. The behaviours of the respondents showed that people's awareness of the importance of domestic solid waste management was not high. Domestic solid waste management still faces many difficulties because the Cho Moi district does not have an infrastructure to ensure efficient treatment of domestic solid waste. Raising the community’s awareness and investment in solid waste management are urgently needed to keep a clean environment.