Tonnes of plastic waste, particularly discarded plastic bags threaten our planet with environmental pollution, and by now almost everybody knows it.

The Hanoi People’s Committee has asked all of its organisations and agencies to refrain from using plastic bags and single-use plastics starting from this month.

Five students from the Hanoi-based Transport University have successfully produced a street paving material from plastic bags.

Two students in HCM City have used potatoes to make food bags which are edible and friendly to the environment.

Large retailers and convenience stores in Thailand have pledged to stop giving plastic bags to customers from next year to reduce plastic waste, the country’s environment minister announced.

Traders of E5 biofuel and biodegradable plastics bags are calling for government incentives to encourage the use of such products.

Enterprises in Hanoi have implemented many concrete and practical action programmes to prevent the use of plastic bags and disposable plastic products.

The People’s Court of Hanoi on June 25 sentenced three members of a drug gang to death for the illegal trade and trafficking of drugs.

Among more than 500 businesses producing plastic bags in Vietnam, only about 30 have environmental-friendly certificates issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The environmental protection tax on plastic bags are expected to increase from VND30,000-50,000 to VND40,000-200,000 per kilo. The new tax rates would help change consumption habits and offer opportunities to biodegradable bag manufacturers.

When a bill on amendments and supplements to the Law on Environmental Protection Tax is approved by the National Assembly, environmental protection taxes on HCFC (hydro-choloro-flouro-carbon) solution and plastic bags might be raised.

The Ministry of Finance has proposed, in a draft law, to almost triple the environmental protection tax on oil and gas consumption from the current VND3,000 (US$0.13) to VND8,000 per litre. 

VietNamNet Bridge – Many environmentally friendly products such as biodegradable packages and non-baked bricks have been in the market for years, but the enterprises that produce these products are having a hard time developing them.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Hoang Duong Tung, Deputy Head of Environment General Department, spoke to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper about the tax on plastic bags that are not environmentally friendly.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has urged HCM City to reduce the use of plastic bags to protect the environment.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The amount of plastic bags used every year in Vietnam has been increasing rapidly, even though they have been heavily taxed since 2012.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Residents of Cu Lao Cham (Cham Isle) have chosen to show their love of their land by refusing to use plastic bags.

 VietNamNet Bridge –Last week Viet Nam News asked readers whether they had any plans to explore the world's largest cave, Son Doong, in central Quang Binh Province, and for suggestions on how to balance exploration with preservation.

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has quickly responded to photos of children being hauled to school across a swollen river in plastic bags.