HANOI — Under the blazing summer sun, farmers continue harvesting ripe golden rice in the fields of Trung Gia commune on the outskirts of Vietnam's capital, Hanoi.
Locals have witnessed firsthand how the once-foul-smelling waste-dumping site has been transformed into vast rice fields, all thanks to the Chinese-invested Soc Son waste-to-energy plant.
Resident Nguyen Van Do recalled that household waste from across the city was once transported here, causing severe environmental pollution and undermining his family's health.
"The environment was heavily polluted with an awful stench, and there were swarms of flies and mosquitoes, especially in humid weather, which harmed the respiratory health of my wife, children and myself," he said.
Most of the city's waste was previously hauled to landfills and piled up "as high as mountains", Do said. Thanks to the plant, his family no longer needs to hang mosquito nets during meals to ward off flies and mosquitoes.
