400 tons of garbage clog Vung Tau beach

By Nguyen Khoa October 10, 2019 | 12:01 am PT

People collect trash washed ashore in Vung Tau, October 9, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Khoa.

A record 400 tons of trash washed onto a Vung Tau beach in southern Vietnam this week, prompting officials to mobilize 3,300 people in a cleanup effort.

Pham Khac To, a tourism manager, said that waves of trash, including tree branches, wood debris and plastic trash, were pushed ashore Bai Sau, a popular beach in Vung Tau, between Monday and Wednesday.

The waste occupied 10 km of seaside, freezing all beach activities.

"Ocean currents carry the trash along and monsoon dumps them onshore. This has happened every year but the trash never exceeded several dozen tons," he said.

The beach town mobilized 3,300 people, including factory workers, soldiers, students and foreign tourists, to help clear the beach. Resorts joined hands by hiring specialized cleanup vehicles.

The trash was dumped at a local landfill.

To said beach activities have resumed on Thursday.

Rich and diverse in culture, arts, customs, and religion, along with stunning landscapes, attract millions of tourists to Vung Tau each year.

It is not uncommon in Vietnam to dump garbage directly into rivers or the sea. In 2018, Vietnam ranked fifth among countries that pollute the oceans with plastic.